You, Me and the Kids
by RockDiva
Summary: Wilbur messes with an invention that goes haywire at the same time as Cornelius has allowed a bunch of orphans into his home, leaving Tallulah and Carl with their hands full. A TC pairing. If you're not a fan of this couple,please don't hate. Not Really T
1. Camp Cornelius

**A/N- **Alright, I've been watching _Bicentennial Man_, and ta-da, new Tallulah and Carl plots have been coming to me. Although The First Date is my current baby, I also thought I'd work on this one and another one to be posted hopefully soon in the future on the side. Or in other words...I'm multitasking again :P Anyways, if you don't like Tallulah and Carl as a potential and eventual couple, well then you're not obligated to read or review. I don't read and hate review slash, so don't read and hate review Human(??)/Robot. And even though this is mainly a T/C story, just can't deny Corny/Franny the attention from time to time XD Also, in this fiction and well most of mine involving Tallulah, I've taken the liberty of having one of her dreams to be an actual fashion designer...not just a fashion wearer. Also, thought since in the movie the poor old orphanage is dilapidated (yet not in the video game...hmm...) I figured that Cornelius would want to make it a project of his. And the thought of Petunia taking a shower...scary.

Rated T- a possible mild innuendo with Franny and Cornelius in this chapter. Depending on how you read into Franny's final comment. I've seen much worse on K+ but I like to abide by the rules. Also, rated for those uncomfortable with a Human/Robot pairing should you choose to read.

* * *

**Camp Cornelius**

Tallulah hummed to herself as she made her way to the dining room for dinner. She twirled and spun every now and then as she went, proving that her head was somewhere in the clouds. As she turned a corner, she ran smack into Carl.

"I'm so sorry, Tallulah. I shouldn't have been coming around that corner so fast. I was just, uh, looking for Wilbur…are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. And it's my fault for not paying attention to where I was going. Just got a lot on my mind I guess," she sighed a happy sigh.

"Oh well, everything's okay right?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, everything's perfect," she skipped on past. "See you at dinner, Carl."

Carl cocked his head slightly as he watched her go on. However, he didn't have time to ponder her curious behavior since he was in a hurry to find Wilbur before anyone noticed he was gone. "Little buddy where are you!?" he said into his receiver.

"I'm right here," Wilbur answered.

"And where exactly is 'here'?" Carl asked sarcastically.

"Dad's lab, and it's a good thing he's not in here right now or I would have totally blown my cover."

Carl sighed and hurried to the lab. "Wilbur, did you take your dad's invisi-belt again?"

"No," Wilbur pushed the button on his belt and appeared in front of Carl. "Dad, finally made one for me to have."

"He probably wouldn't have if he had known you were going to use it to sneak around his lab."

"Not my problem. He should have thought of that."

"It's called trust, Wilbur!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I found out which one's the top secret invention dad's been working on all month."

"Why didn't you just ask me? I already knew which one it was."

"I did ask you, Carl. Remember, you said it wasn't your place to tell me."

"And you just couldn't live with that answer?!" Carl was becoming frustrated with Wilbur.

"It's like you don't know me at all. I still don't know what it does though. He added a microcelluloniuminducer so I know it has to do something with people."

"Well that narrows it down," Carl rolled his eyes and suddenly remembered why he had been looking for Wilbur. "You need to get to dinner now."

"Why? I'll just say I wasn't hungry when they ask me later," Wilbur waved him off.

"I don't think you understand. Your dad has an important announcement and if you're not there to hear it, he's going to send someone looking for you. And if I'm not there to be sent, then he'll probably do it himself…and you know where he'll look first."

"Well, that _is_ a bit of a hitch. _Fine_. At least now I know which one it is. I can test it out later."

"You know, if your dad wanted a 13 year old invention tester, I'm sure he would ask you," Carl huffed as he followed Wilbur to the dining room.

"There you are, son," Cornelius greeted him heartily as they came into the dining room. "You're just in time for the announcement," he said standing to his feet, Franny right beside him. "Alright, everyone, what I'm about to say is something I'm very excited about," he smiled at Franny who smiled back.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Wilbur suddenly let out a cry.

"Wilbur, what's the matter?" Cornelius asked suddenly.

"I like being an only child!" Everyone gasped and looked at Franny.

"What are you talking about, son?" Cornelius looked at Franny for a little assistance.

"Wilbur, sweetie, I'm not pregnant," Franny assured him.

"Oh, phew, that's a relief. Proceed."

Cornelius chuckled before continuing. "Alright, now that that's settled, as you all know the Old Town orphanage has been something near and dear to my heart for many years. And now that the renovation of it is almost complete, I have invited the orphans to stay with us for a few days until the grand re-opening on Saturday. I know it's a lot to ask, but there will be a good forty kids running around here over the next few days."

"Great…" Wilbur rolled his eyes.

"Wilbur, some of them might be your classmates, so be nice," Franny warned.

"Classmates? I didn't know any of them were orphans."

"I said might be, now let your father finish."

"In order for this to run smoothly, I will be locking down parts of the house, such as the lab and the basement and anyone else who asks that their room be off limits. At meal times, the kids will be dining in the music room. Basically, we want this to be a camp like experience for them so perhaps Gaston, you could show them your cannon room, Art maybe rides in the spaceship when you're off duty? Any other suggestions?"

"Well, we'll be going out of town thank goodness!" Petunia screeched.

"We're going to a happy marriage seminar and retreat for the next two days," Fritz filled in the blanks.

"That's okay. Thanks for the heads up."

"I could give the kids art lessons!" Laszlo suggested.

"I could give them rides on my choo-choos," Aunt Billie said excitedly.

"And I could give the girls makeovers and do their hair and…" Tallulah started but then gasped. "Oh my, I forgot! I've got a lunch date with Johnny Vantino on Friday! And then he agreed to come to the house and look at some of my designs. He never looks at designs over a meal."

"That's wonderful news," they applauded.

"He's one of the best in the business. His uncle owns the biggest fashion line in this hemisphere. If he approves, it could mean something big."

"Wait, Johnny Vantino…isn't he the one with the 'dreamy eyes'?" Laszlo teased.

"Lasz!" Tallulah was horrified by her brother's betrayal.

"And don't forget that beautiful golden hair that just…" Laszlo was cut short when he felt a piece of salisbury steak hit him on the forehead with a _plop_.

"Oh so that's how it is, hey!?" Laszlo began firing peas one by one, laughing as they landed in his sister's hair.

"Oh, yes, a food fight! That would also be an excellent activity for the kids," Cornelius said to himself.

"Laszlo, Tallulah! You stop it this instance! I just took a shower and I don't want to have to take another one!" Petunia put an end to her children's food fight before everyone else got the notion to join in.

"Sorry, ma," they both said at the same time, while Laszlo managed one more pea to be flung at Tallulah.

"Don't worry, Tallulah," Franny spoke up. "We'll all make sure things run smoothly for you. Isn't that right everyone?"

"Right," they all said in unison, even Laszlo, although he did so with a roll of his eyes.

"Alright, now I need some help after dinner setting up the many bunking areas, and decorating the house and all for their arrival," Cornelius continued. "Wilbur and Carl, do you think you could come with me to the Hardware store? I have several cots on hold, but I'll need a couple of hands to help me with them. Tallulah, Laszlo, would it be too much to ask that the both of you put your creative minds together and decorate this place? As for everyone else…"

"I'll just do it myself, cous," Laszlo offered, not really wanting to work with his sister.

"Hey! He asked me too, and I wanna help," Tallulah protested.

"Honey, maybe those two working together…" Franny whispered to her husband.

"Hmm…new plan. Laszlo, you decorate the music room, and the four guest rooms and Tallulah you can decorate the entry area, the halls and anywhere else you deem appropriate. How does that sound?"

"Sweetie, you can't let Tallulah decorate the entry area. I can't even decorate the entry area without a ladder the size of a skyscraper," Franny pointed out, although exaggerating slightly.

Cornelius sighed, "Alright, you make another good point. And since Wilbur broke the ladder," he eyed his son who only responded with a nervous chuckle.

"How about I help?" Carl suggested. "I can extend to any height."

"Excellent idea."

"And Gaston and I can give you a hand with those cots," Art offered, Gaston nodding his head in agreement.

"Wonderful!" Cornelius was becoming excited. He wanted this experience to be as magical for the orphans as his own experience had been when he was twelve. "And as for you Wilbur, I have a different idea. As punishment, you'll be helping out anyone who needs you around here. Whether it's your mom and grandma in the kitchen working on the welcome cake and other desserts, or whether it's Laszlo, Tallulah or Carl, or whatever it is. Whatever they ask you do, is that understood?"

"Hold up? Punishment for what?" Wilbur challenged.

"Did you really think I didn't know you were in the lab?"

"How'd you know?" Wilbur slightly glanced at Carl, wondering if he had ratted him out.

"Because a mouse your not."

"Yeah, but,"

"Wilbur, don't argue with your father," Franny stepped in.

"Fine," Wilbur sunk down in his seat.

"Alright, let's finish dinner and get started. We don't want to get to sleep too late tonight," Cornelius urged everyone to hurry with their meal.

Franny reached over and gently laid her hand on her husband's. "I know how important this is for you," she said so that only they could hear.

"I just want these kids to be happy. Make them feel as special as I did when I spent that first day here with everyone," he sighed, taking her hand into his.

"Don't worry. You know how it is around this house. No matter what happens, I'm sure it will be an experience those kids will never forget," she smiled reassuringly.

"I know _I_ never forgot," he let out a small half-laugh. He then smiled coyly, "I especially never forgot you," he raised her hand to his face and kissed it.

"Hey! Some of us are still trying to eat," Wilbur said upon seeing his dad do so.

"You just had to have a kid," Cornelius said playfully, the comment directed to Franny.

"Hey, I'm not the _only_ one responsible and you know it. So don't even go there with me, buddy."


	2. Something There That Wasn't There Before

**A/N- **I've been so busy lately, thus the long wait for posting this chapter. Anyways, in this chapter, I intoduced a couple of characters I've never used before. Both are from the video game. Firstly, there's Jacoby. Jacoby is Carl's friend over in the industrial district in the game. I figured that he could be an outside source of advice for Carl. I also took liberty with making him what I termed a semidroid. Secondly, there's an orphan named Camila. She's one of the scanned orphans in the game. She's the only girl of the four scans and it says that she's interested in lots of "boring" things (things above most kids heads) and I gathered from what it said likes to make boys feel inferior...so I used that and built upon it making her a headstrong girl genius...kind of try and imagine a cross between younger Franny and Cindy from Jimmy Neutron and that's how I mostly envisioned Camila. Creds go to Robin (doodlegirll) for first introducing the concept of a way to keep people younger longer in the future :) She has the youth patch, here I just put advancements in medical technology.

Newsflash! While writing this chapter, there was a news article/segment about a new robot just invented. It's complete with artificial intelligence and everything! Well, really it's more like an android because it has fake skin and all. Anyways, they want to mass produce them sometime soon in the future to make them in home helpers! I thought that this was an uncanny coincidence. Also, it was created, how do I put this...anatomically correct. Basically they will be male or female for basically the same reason why I'm writing this story :P

* * *

**Something There That Wasn't There Before**

"This is so unfair," Wilbur argued as he helped Carl and Tallulah roll out a large banner for them to decorate.

"Well, you know I hate to say I told you so…no, actually, it feels kind of good," Carl never got tired of being right. "I told you so."

"Whatever. Let's just get started. What is it going to say?" Wilbur wanted to change the subject.

"Why, welcome, of course," Tallulah answered.

"I guess that makes sense," Wilbur grabbed for a paint brush but stopped when he heard his name being called from the kitchen. He rolled his eyes and went to see what he was needed for.

"I almost feel bad for him," Tallulah said genuinely.

"Not if you had to put up with him the way I do," Carl joked but meant no harm by it. "I can't even imagine what it's going to be like with a bunch of kids running around here instead of just one."

"Hmm…well, I can imagine laughter and cheerful sounds of them all playing and feeling special for once."

"Loud crashes of things being broken, some arguing amongst themselves, stomping of feet as they run through the house…basically the way it already sounds around here times forty."

"Don't you think you might be exaggerating a little bit, Carl?" Tallulah asked with a slight giggle.

"Maybe. It's not that I don't like kids or don't want to help the orphans or anything like that. It's just I have a feeling Wilbur's not going to make it easy to help keep a bunch of kids entertained while I'm too busy wondering what he's up to. I have a feeling he's going to be getting into even more trouble if I don't stop him."

"Oh. Well, I know how you feel…sort of. I'm a little preoccupied with thoughts of Friday. I really, really want it to go well with Johnny."

"I'm sure he'll be impressed with you," Carl tried to encourage her. "What's not to like?"

"Well…" there was doubt in Tallulah's voice.

"You're talented, your designs are amazing and you're as pretty as any model he's probably ever met," he complimented, hoping it would help her self-esteem.

Tallulah blushed. "Thank you, Carl."

"Why those 'dreamy eyes' would have to be blind if he didn't take more interest than just your designs," Carl was surprised by the things coming out of his mouth.

"Ugh! How horrible was that of Laszlo! He must have been listening in on my phone conversations again." Finally the full of what Carl had said set in. "Wait, do you really think so? He is the most eligible bachelor in the fashion world," Tallulah said with more than a little hint of infatuation.

Carl suddenly became uncomfortable with the situation, but he wasn't sure why. "Well, yeah, sure. Why not?"

"Wow, that's so sweet of you to say." Neither of them was looking at the other at this point. Instead they were concentrating on their work on the banner. Silence continued on and on between them, as they both tried to figure out why it felt so awkward.

---The Robinson Lab---

"Do you not hear the words coming out of my mouth?!" Carl paced back and forth in front of a monitor inside the lab as he talked to his good friend Jacoby who lived over in the Industrial District. "It was like there was this tension. I can't even explain it."

"Relax, Carl," Jacoby insisted with a hearty chuckle. "After all, you are a _male _robot. Why are you so concerned?"

"Well, of course I'm a male robot…wait. What are you getting at, Jacoby?" Carl stopped pacing and raised his eyebrow towards the screen.

"Tell me. What is the thing that only yourself and a few others know about me?"

"That you're a semidroid. Why?"

"Meaning?"

"Your mother was an android and your father was a human…where is this going?"

"It's not _going_ anywhere. I'm simply saying that I think you're overreacting about something that is perfectly natural…even for a robot."

"Whoa, now wait just a minute. You can't possibly mean…you can't even be suggesting that I…that's just absolutely…are you crazy?!"

"Thou doth protest too much," Jacoby teased.

"I protest because it's a ridiculous notion, no offense. She's practically family. I mean, I watched Lewis and Laszlo in the waiting room the day she was born. So to even suggest such a thing would be absolutely…"

"…a normal occurrence. By design you are no more than five years older than her."

"Well, yeah, I guess if you get technical," Carl answered scratching his head. "But that still doesn't mean anything."

"You're just not going to accept what I'm saying are you?" Jacoby relented.

"No, because I think you're just jumping to conclusions."

"Yes, well, I'm good at that I guess. Still, if you ever need to talk about it, you know where to find me."

"Well, thankfully, this will be the last of the conversation. Goodnight, Jacoby," Carl watched as the screen went blank. He laughed to himself about what his friend had said. But then it dawned on him that he _still _couldn't explain why there had been something odd between himself and Tallulah earlier.

---Robinson Foyer---

"Wow! Look at that neat banner!" one of the kids, who was interested in design, shouted as the many kids filled the foyer of the Robinson house. The other kids followed suit and began chattering loudly.

"Well, kids, there's plenty more things we've set up for you around the house," Cornelius said enthusiastically. "But first, why don't you help yourself to some cookies and other goodies," he pointed to the large table that had been set up in front of the stairs and it wasn't long before he was nearly trampled.

"I'm not so sure if that was the best idea in the world," came a familiar voice from the door way.

"Mildred!?" Cornelius looked to see his old orphanage caretaker. "This is such an unexpected surprise. Why didn't you tell my you were coming when you wrote me last?"

"And ruin seeing that look on your face?" she laughed a very warm, elderly laugh. Thankfully, she had aged gracefully thanks to medical breakthroughs that kept people in the future alive and young for much longer than in the past. Still, the wrinkles could be seen when she smiled. "Wanda hear called me," she referenced to the new caretaker of the orphanage, "and let me know what you were doing for these kids. I'm proud of you, Lewis. Oh, I'm sorry, I almost forgot it's Cornelius now. Well, that's what the mind does when you get older."

"It's okay, Mildred. _You_ can call me Lewis anytime," he finally hugged her. "Well, it's almost lunchtime, so how about we all talk over what the plan is for the next few days, and then you can both join the family for lunch in the dining room. Wilbur and Carl can take the kids to my wife's music lounge where they can have lunch."

"As always, you have a plan don't you?" Mildred teased in a motherly tone. She then noticed Lucille and Bud and decided to mingle with them as Cornelius spoke more professionally with Wanda.

Meanwhile, Wilbur stood nearby gaping at the way several of the orphans were stuffing their faces. "It's like they've never had sugar before."

"Well, actually, some of the littler ones haven't. You see, the government only gives Wanda so much funding, so she has to use it for more important things than sweets," one of the orphans answered.

Wilbur turned to see a familiar face. "Camila?"

"Shocked to see me?"

"A little," Wilbur admitted.

"Yes, well, I'm not that thrilled to be here myself. But I didn't have much of a choice. It was either this or sleep on the streets I guess," she had only meant it as a joke, but she could see that Wilbur wasn't following along. "I'm an orphan, Wilbur."

"An orphan? I never would have guessed that."

"And, frankly, Robinson, I never would have guessed that you even would know my name. Yet here we are…proving mathematical probabilities wrong."

"Ha ha. So funny. Besides, everyone knows the high and mighty genius, Camila," Wilbur sneered, proving that she was no friend.

"Oh right. Just like everyone knows the cocky, show off, cool dude Wilbur?" Wilbur opened his mouth to retort but was stopped by his mom who came over to them.

"Who's this, Wilbur?"

"Oh, it's…her name's Camilla. We have a few classes together at school."

"How nice. I'm pleased to meet you, Camila."

"I'm pleased to meet you! You're the one who took music to the next level. How did you ever know that frogs were so musically inclined?" Camila asked with genuine excitement.

"Well, it's a long story, but if you'd like I could tell you," Franny felt flattered.

"Oh, I'd love that!"

"Oh, I'd love that," Wilbur mimicked after walking away. "Of all the girls to be orphans!" He went to his room and plopped down in one of his beanbag chairs. He then used his hands as puppets to let out his frustration. "That sure is a fascinating project about pigeons. Maybe even worth first prize," he said using a deeper voice. "Why, thank you, Mr. Jones," he said using his normal voice. He then took his other hand and began imitating Camila. "Wait until you see mine! It looks like an ordinary pen but in fact it sends electromagnetic pulses to the brain which then stimulates the portion of the brain that contains the most recent memories. That means it can make even a student like Wilbur here look good on a test, so long as he studies…bla bla bla" Wilbur let out a frustrated huff. Suddenly, a smile crossed his face. "It's a good thing I know what would make me feel better."

He wasted no time in running out of his room and into the lab. His eyes were immediately drawn to his father's newest invention. It was by no means small and there were several buttons and levers. Wilbur's mouth almost watered when he saw the large red button in the middle. He was jolted from his trance by the sound of the Robinson meal bell. It had been installed by Cornelius and was loud enough to be heard through most of the house. He then heard the shuffling of several feet and remembered that he was supposed to help Carl serve their guests their first meal. He looked at the door and then back at the mysterious machine. "I'm sure Carl can manage a little while by himself." He continued over to the machine, contemplating which button he would push first.


	3. True Love Is Frozen In Time

**A/N- **School, school and more school. It just never gives a gal a break :P Anyways, most major note in this chapter, the Time Pause 3000 and any entities-including concepts I use based off of the Time Pause 3000-are credited to Robin (doodlegirll) so check out her work too :) You won't be disappointed. Also, the name Buzz was inspired while watching _The Replacements_. The title of this chapter is taken from the song _I Will Remember You _by Amy Grant. Great song that should be listened to atleast once. Other than that, this is a pretty basic no need to over-a/n chapter! Except I would like to say...I NEVER want to write the words half, mile, and radius in the same sentence ever again. Atleast not until the next chapter!

* * *

**True Love Is Frozen In Time**

"Lunch is served," Carl, per usual, sprouted several mini-Carl's which proceeded to serve the kids their meal.

"Cool!" was the similar exclamation among most in the group.

"What's it like to be a robot?" one kid asked suddenly.

"Well, for me, it's like being human only with the added perk of robot capabilities."

"Puh-lease! You're practically a servant," a rather nasty little boy said.

"Buzz, you apologize or else," Camila spoke up on Carl's behalf.

"It's okay. There are some robots who are like servants because they were designed that way. But I was fortunate enough to be designed by Dr. Cornelius Robinson, and he created me to think, talk, act like a human."

"So you're like an android?" one little girl asked, proving that none of them-save Camila-knew much of robotics.

"Yes, very much like an android," Carl decided to keep it at that. "But because Dr. Robinson created me as a friend, not a servant, I still help out; much like most of you might have chores." All of the children groaned at the word. "Although my main purpose is to help out in the lab, I help with other things, even babysitting Wilbur here," Carl looked around and realized Wilbur wasn't in the room.

"Ugh! Now _that's_ got to be worse than just the thought of being a servant," Camila said sarcastically.

"Well, I guess….he does get into a lot of trouble now and then, but I…trouble!" A thought struck Carl and he suddenly had a suspicion that Wilbur was up to no good in the lab. "Stay here, kids. I'll be right back…" Carl was about to rush out when a strange shockwave pulsed through the room, making everyone feel frozen for a matter of seconds. When it dissipated, everyone looked around at each other, most holding their heads in a similar fashion as brain freeze after having eaten ice cream too quickly.

"Wha-What was that?" Camila asked.

"He just _had_ to see what it does."

--Hallway Outside Lab--

"Not. So. Fast." Carl stopped Wilbur, who was trying to sneak out of the lab undetected.

"Oh hey, Carl. So I'm guessing you felt the shockwave too. Strange huh? I was just, you know, on my way to investigate."

"You can save it, Wilbur. I know you were messing with that new invention."

"Alright, so maybe I was. But no harm's been done."

"No harm? It sent a shockwave through the house, so it apparently must have done something!"

"But we don't know if what it did was good or bad. All we have to do is search the lab for dad's blueprints and…"

"No way! Nope. Not this time. Sorry. You didn't listen to me when I repeatedly told you not to mess with the invention in the first place. So this time, I'm just going straight to your dad about this." Before Wilbur could stop him, Carl was already making a quick beeline towards the dining room.

Wilbur wondered if he should take this time to hide, but decided to go ahead with Carl and attempt to plead his innocence in the matter. "Carl, wait up!" He ran to catch up with the robot.

As they passed the music lounge, Camila's curiosity got the better of her and she invited herself to tag along behind them once they had already gone into the dining room. She slowly peeked her head through the door, her jaw dropping as she did. Before her, Camila saw all of the adults at the dining room table seemingly frozen in time. She also saw Wilbur and Carl looking around frantically. "What did you do!?"

Wilbur cringed at the sound of Camila's voice. His head rolled back on his shoulders and he slowly turned to look at her. "Camila, please, not now."

"Not now? You froze the adults!"

"Do they look 'frozen'?" Wilbur was attempting to misconstrue the situation.

"Well, not with ice! So, what exactly…" Camila didn't finish. "Let me see that invention."

"What invention?"

"Don't play dumb with me. I heard Carl mention an invention. I'm just trying to help."

"_You_? Help _me_?"

"Wilbur, now's not exactly the time to be choosy," Carl pointed out.

"Fine. If you don't want my help than I'm sorry I even offered," Camila turned to walk out.

"Wait," Wilbur bit his lip and forced himself to ask for her help. "Follow me," he sighed as he led her to the lab, followed closely behind by Carl. "There it is."

Camila walked over and began inspecting it closely. "Well, the last setting appears to be for any adult in a half mile radius."

"How can you tell?" Wilbur looked at the screen, but it might as well have been in a foreign language.

"These are all equations. The last equation in the string used functions that would limit the effect of the machine to a half mile radius and only to those aged over eighteen. But the exact effect is a little fuzzy. I'm advanced, but not that advanced yet. Is there a blueprint anywhere?"

"Aha! See, Carl, a blueprint!" Wilbur needed the ego boost to help him focus on the matter at hand instead of getting caught up in competition with Camila.

"Alright, alright," Carl was in no mood for Wilbur's cockiness. "Your dad usually keeps the notes on his most recent endeavor close at hand at all times. Sometimes stuffed in his lab coat pocket, maybe in his room, usually somewhere he can keep them out of reach from _prying eyes_. Your mom is usually the first to know about any of his new ventures."

"That's so romantic," Camila sighed, letting her girly side take hold for a moment. "I mean, that makes sense. I never let my newest plans out of my sight either. So where's his lab coat? We should check there first."

"He's probably wearing it. I think dad has that thing surgically attached," Wilbur answered.

They went back to the dining room and Wilbur began searching Cornelius's pockets. Sure enough, he found a detailed blueprint folded several times. He handed it to Camila, who began studying it intently. Meanwhile, Carl was studying the room just as intently. He was certain that something was misplaced.

"Time Pause 3000?" Camila read some of the notes aloud.

"It's something my dad invented."

"Whatever _it_ does, this new invention also does on a larger, more concentrated scale."

"Well, that's dumb. Why would dad want another Time Pause, and a bulkier one on top of it," Wilbur didn't understand the logic.

"Time pause," Camila mumbled. "You mean that it pauses time!?"

"Well, duh. Did your advanced brain figure that out all on its own?" Wilbur didn't waste the opportunity to gloat over Camila's slowness.

Camila ignored him. "So that means all adults in a half mile radius are frozen in time. We've got to find a way to reverse the effect and fast! If this is a prototype, who knows what glitches may occur."

"No adults? That's kind of cool. Maybe we can wrangle all adults into a half mile radius and watch them freeze too!" Wilbur exclaimed mischievously.

"Don't be silly. Besides, we still don't know the details of how it works. Just because it froze time when you pushed the button, it doesn't mean it will continue freezing any adult that walks into that radius."

"It doesn't mean it won't either," Wilbur argued.

"Touché," Camila sighed.

"Tallulah!" Carl suddenly exclaimed.

"Tallulah?" Wilbur wondered what the robot meant.

"She's not here."

"So?"

"Well, if she shows up and if you're right for once, she'll freeze too," Carl explained.

"And you care because…" Wilbur tried to fill in the blanks.

"I don't _care_. But she has that important lunch thing tomorrow, and as family you should want her to succeed," Carl sounded as though he were trying to convince himself as well.

"He's right. Family first, Wilbur," Camila agreed, wishing she had a family to act selflessly for.

"Well, there's nothing we can do anyways," Wilbur pointed out.

"Not necessarily. I'll go run through the equations again. But meanwhile, find whoever this Tallulah is and keep her from entering the radius."

Carl didn't think twice and Wilbur followed him in his hurry. As they rushed outside, they were stopped in shock. All of the kids were running loose. Some were bouncing on the yard trampolines. Some had found a hose and were now in the middle of a mud fight. One boy was even hanging on tightly to Tiny's tail as he ran around the yard like an excited puppy.

"This can't be good," Wilbur said nervously.

"Your dad wanted them to have fun. So let them have their fun. _We_ need to mark off where the half mile radius ends and then make sure that your cousin doesn't cross it," Carl instructed. They began doing so around the entire house, but neither of them noticed Tallulah coming closer and closer to the house.

"I'm so late," she panicked as she walked. "Lunch is already over. Cornelius is going to think I'm disrespectful. And then he'll tell mom." As she neared the edge of the invisible line that marked the begin and end of the radius, she noticed Carl waving his arms and some flags wildly. Wilbur was running toward her. They had obviously finally spotted her. "What are those two up to?" Her curiosity quickened her step.

Carl used his megaphone and yelled, "Tallulah, stop!"

But it was too late. She had already crossed the line before stopping in her tracks.


	4. Yabba Dabba Don't

**A/N- **Alright, I am so happy that I posted this chapter much sooner than it took to post the last one. In this chapter, a few of the lines by Wilbur were inspired by the episode _Footlooser _from _The Suite Life of Zack and Cody_. Other than that, just one disclaimer: I do not really know how much a t-rex weighs. That is all :)

* * *

**Yabba Dabba Don't**

"Oh, we're too late," Carl threw up his hands dramatically as he quickly joined Wilbur in standing beside Tallulah. "All that for nothing."

"We tried and that's what matters, Carl," Wilbur sighed.

"Maybe we can…"

"What is going on here!?" Tallulah spoke, causing both Carl and Wilbur to jump.

"Yeah, what is going on here?" Wilbur scratched his head.

"Camila's theory must have been right. It was a one time effect!" Carl cheered, but then felt foolish and self conscious for doing so.

"Hello!" Tallulah put her fists on her hips. "You told me to stop! What do you want?"

"So that's why you stopped!"

"Is he feeling okay?" Tallulah looked at Carl curiously and then at Wilbur questioningly.

"Oh, yeah, he's fine. He just thought you were frozen in time. That's all."

"Oh, that's all is it? And _why_ would he think that?"

"It's a funny story actually," Wilbur forced a small laugh.

"You call time freezing the adults funny?" Carl interjected.

"Well, yeah, sort of."

"Okay you know what, this is getting weird, even more so than usual. So I'm just gonna…" Tallulah was about to walk away when she saw Tiny run by with a two kids hanging on tightly to his tail. "What on earth…Wilbur, I know your dad wanted the kids to have fun, but aren't they a little out of control?"

"He doesn't exactly know."

"Then I'll just go tell him."

"You can't. We've been trying to tell you in a roundabout way but maybe we should just show you," Wilbur told Tallulah to come with him and Carl. She followed them, rolling her eyes every now and then as she did. But it wasn't long before she saw with her own eyes what Wilbur meant and they proceeded to explain what had happened.

"So, if I hadn't been late, I'd be in here too," the thought sent a shiver down Tallulah's spine.

"And we weren't sure if the whole half mile radius thing would still be in effect. That's why we were trying to keep you from crossing into it. But you did anyways and nothing happened so it means that the effect was a once per button push deal. Convenient, heh," Wilbur smirked.

"So what's being done to fix this?" Tallulah asked.

"One of the orphans is actually practically a genius. She's in the lab working on it now. Also, pretty convenient," Wilbur answered.

"I _was_ in there working on it. But it's going to be harder than I thought," they turned to see Camila standing in the door way, shoulders slumped in a bit of defeat.

"Well, well, well. So Miss Science can't…" Tallulah shot a glare at both Wilbur and Carl, causing Carl covered Wilbur's mouth.

"Don't listen to him, sweetie. You can do it if you put your mind to it. What seems to be the problem?" Tallulah put her hand on Camila's shoulder as they walked out into the hallway away from Wilbur.

Carl let go and prepared for Wilbur to lose his temper. "What was that about!?"

"We need Camila to be able to fix this. If you destroy her confidence, she won't be any help, not to mention it's mean to do. That and Tallulah shot us this glare. It was terrifying so I panicked."

"Carl, you are so weak."

"Wilbur, come here now," Tallulah ordered.

"Only when I'm ready," Wilbur answered defiantly, trying to prove he was stronger than Carl.

"I said _now_!"

"Okay, okay, so I'm ready," Wilbur played it off but deep down he had to admit his cousin's tone scared him just a little.

"Camila here says that she needs to do some research at the library before undertaking any of the mathematical things she was talking about."

"Equations," Camila helped her.

"Right, equations. So, go with her and help. Two heads will be faster than one."

"What?" Both Camila and Wilbur asked simultaneously.

"No arguing. We have to do something about this as fast as possible. Carl, you and me need to get the rest of the kids under control."

"But Carl said to let them have there fun," Wilbur responded.

"Oh he did, did he?" Tallulah turned and looked at the robot.

"Yeah, he said…" Camila grabbed Wilbur by the arm and dragged him away before he could finish.

"In my defense, I though at the time that it was more important to make sure you didn't end up like the others," Carl explained.

"I'm flattered but really you should have thought of the kids first. Still, that _was_ very sweet of you. I…" Tallulah was stopped by the sound of the kids screaming outside.

Without even looking at one another, Carl and Tallulah sprinted outside. By now a huge portion of the yard was nothing but mud. They looked in horror as Tiny slipped and slid in the mud, fear evident on the poor creature's face. A handful of kids were hanging onto his giant tail for dear life as it whipped back and forth out of control. The rest of the group screamed as they slipped around in the mud in their desperate attempt to get away from the dinosaur's colossal feet.

"I'll go get the ones on the tail," Carl said.

"And I'll try to help the others," Tallulah responded as they set off to control the chaos.

Carl quickly made his way over to the tail, avoiding it as it _whooshed_ around. He extended his arms to grab the kids one at a time and place them far enough away to be safe. Meanwhile, Tallulah urged the kids to hurry. She helped pull up the smaller ones who were struggling to stay upright in the slippery mud. She looked around to make sure that all of the kids had made it to safety but suddenly saw one very small little girl who appeared to be actually stuck in the mud. Tallulah looked at Tiny, who appeared to be on the verge of falling at any second, and back to the little girl. Without thinking twice, she fought her way through the mud and grabbed the child.

"Hurry up and get out of there! Tiny's coming down!" She heard Carl screaming.

Panicking she yelled, "Carl, catch!" and as gently but with as much muscle as she could manage tossed the fearful child into the air. Thankfully, Carl set down the final kid he had just grabbed from the tail, extended his arms and caught her before she could hit the ground. Suddenly, there was a huge _thud_ as Tiny finally hit the ground.

The little girl, clinging to Carl tightly, slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She saw the horrible look on the robot's face and then saw that Tiny was on the ground, Tallulah underneath him. "Is she okay?" The girl asked finally as Carl slowly put her down.

"Tiny, listen to me. Roll over very, very slowly. " Tiny, who was well trained thanks to a microchip Cornelius had implanted in him, understood Carl's command and started to do so. "No, no, the other way. You'll squash her more if you roll over that way." Tiny did as he was told and Tallulah was free. "Now, Tiny, sit. We don't need you slipping around anymore in the mud. So just stay." Carl moved a little closer to where Tallulah was still lying. "Tallulah? Tallulah, can you hear me?"

"Does she need a doctor?"

"Should we call an ambulance?"

"Maybe someone should go tell Wanda," the kids immediately began spouting what they considered to be helpful advice.

"We can't tell Wanda remember," Buzz responded. He had found the adults in the dining room, and even though he wasn't smart enough to explain it, he had been the one to instigate the chaos.

"Tallulah, please don't leave me alone with all these kids," Carl was on the verge of telling one of the kids to go summon for a doctor when Tallulah began to stir.

"Is she okay?" Tallulah coughed and opened her eyes.

"Yes, she's fine. A little shaken up. What about you? Are you okay?"

"I-I think so." She tried to set up, but winced in pain. "I guess I must be pretty bruised. But I don't think anything's broken. I've been through worse with Tiny remember," Tallulah was referring to when Tiny had been under the Bowler Hat Guy's control. Then, she had been hurled against a wall and escaped with only a few bruises.

"Yes, but that time the wall took most of the impact, not you," Carl spouted the physics of the matter.

"I'm fine, really. Just got the wind knocked out of me. See," Tallulah gritted through the pain but managed to stand up. However, she had forgotten about the muddy ground. Not expecting it to be slippery, along with her already weakened condition, she began to fall back down but Carl stopped that from happening. "Thanks, Carl. I guess I forgot about the mud."

"Are you sure you're fine? Maybe I should do an x-ray scan?" Carl offered.

"You can do that?" it was something Tallulah hadn't known about the robot. "I mean, no, I just need to sit down a bit or something. I'll be good as new in an hour." She smiled reassuringly but then looked around a bit shyly. "But, um, can I ask you one tiny favor. This is embarrassing, but can you help me out of this mud?"

"Of course!" Without even giving her time to blink, Carl lifted Tallulah into his arms and carried her to where the kids were standing and carefully set her back down.

Tallulah blushed. "I had really only meant that you could help me across by holding my hand or something. You didn't have to carry me."

"Oh, I, uh…" Carl now felt foolish.

"But thank you," she said genuinely. "Alright, I think maybe we should work on cleaning up this mess," she was mainly talking about how dirty all of the kids and Tiny were. "But first, how do we get Tiny out of the mud without him taking another dive?"

"I know, Miss Tallulah, ma'am," the same little girl from earlier spoke up. She walked closer to where Tiny was still sitting. "Hey, Tiny. Hey, boy." Tiny began wagging his tail happily. "Watch me." The little girl got down on the ground and began crawling almost military style. Tiny excitedly mimicked her until he was on dry ground.

"That was brilliant," Tallulah cheered as she and the others joined her. "What's your name, sweetie and how old are you?"

"My name is Talia and I just turned five two weeks ago."

"Well, Talia, I know that you and I are going to be great friends. Now, everyone else, let's give Tiny a bath and then we'll work on getting the rest of you cleaned up. How's that sound?"

"Sounds like a plan," Carl answered before there was any protest from the group.

Suddenly, Tiny gave Tallulah a lick with his massive tongue that covered her entire head. Some of the kids cried, "Eww!" and Tallulah couldn't deny that she felt like doing the same thing.

"I think he's trying to say he's sorry," Talia giggled.

"Is that so? Well, thank you, Tiny. I accept your slobbery apology," Tallulah forced a smile. "Now, let's get this oversized puppy cleaned up. Talia, why don't you be in charge?"

"Really?! Okay, listen up," Talia began giving orders to her fellow orphans.

Meanwhile Tallulah, still feeling icky from the lick, turned to go find something to clean her face off with but was instead greeted by Carl. A third arm extended from his chest holding a towel. "I had a feeling you might want this."

"Thank you, Carl…again," she smiled and took it graciously.

"No, thank you. There's no way I'd be able to handle all of these kids on my own. You seem to have a knack."

"Well, I'm guessing it just comes with being a woman," she said as she inspected her dirty clothes.

"But I think I _could_ keep them under control for a little bit while you go get cleaned up," Carl knew it's what she wanted.

"Really!? Are you sure? You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I'll be fine. Really. Besides, you're the one who just took the impact of a three ton dinosaur. I think you more than deserve it."

"Thank you so much!" Without thinking, Tallulah threw her arms around Carl and hugged him before going into the house.

"Don't mention it…" Carl wasn't sure what to think as he watched her go.


	5. The Games We Play

**A/N- **Oh Em Gee! I am just way behind on everything! I'm not sure why, but this past week has just been very strange for me. Last week was quite good, but this week I just can't seem to get the jump on anything. I fell behind in class, I took forever to post this, and I haven't even been able to read the last chapter of _Doris Returns!_ or Robin's _Like Looking In A Mirror_. I feel like someone stole like three hours from every single day! I seriously seriously don't get it. I'm waking up the same time, but still, nothing! I guess my brain has just hit total overload :( But the good news is, I was able to crank out the rest of the first chapter of _Artificial Romance_, and I'll type it tomorrow and have it posted Friday. In the meantime, I have to clean my entire house by noon tomorrow, so there goes more time!! Note to self- take another sabattical! Oh well, enough of all that since it has nothing to do with this story :P There's not really anything to note on this chapter. Except, has anyone else ever played Heads Up Seven Up? Just curious. We played it all the time when I was in elementery school and even some of middle school! It was always a quick fix for the teachers when they promised free time. Oh and bonus points worth absolutely nothing if anyone can figure out the extremely easy clue in the kids' game...

* * *

**The Games We Play**

"Now that's what I like to see," Tallulah said as she joined Carl and the kids in the music lounge. They were all cleaned up and sitting quietly as Carl had asked them. "So what do we do next?" she whispered the question to Carl as she took a place beside him.

"I was hoping that you would know," Carl answered nervously.

"That's not good," Tallulah mumbled as she looked at the kids. It was clear that they were already growing restless. "We need to come up with a plan," she whispered to Carl before addressing the group. "Hey kids, I know that none of you just want to sit here. So me and Carl are going to think of some things for you to do. In the meantime, why don't you stay here and play a game called heads up seven up. Does anyone know how to play?"

Surprisingly, Buzz raised his hand eagerly. "I do! It's easy. We played it in school once."

"Alright Buzz. Why don't you explain it for those who don't know how to play and pick six more people to get the game started? Carl and I will be right back." She turned to Carl, but he didn't seem to be paying attention to her. "Come on, Carl."

"But I've never seen this game. I want to see how it works," he protested slightly.

"_After_ we come up with a plan, okay," she pulled him out into the hall. "We can't leave them by themselves for too long so we need to think fast."

"You sure are good at taking initiative," it was a quality Carl had never noticed in Tallulah before.

"I guess you have to be pushy in the fashion world…oh no! The lunch tomorrow! What am I going to do? I can't leave you alone here with the kids and I certainly can't bring Johnny here to look at my designs while the kids are running all over the place."

The conversation of Tallulah's lunch with Johnny Vantino still irked Carl in a way that he couldn't comprehend. "How about we cross that bridge when it gets closer," he tried to hide the annoyance in his voice.

Still, Tallulah sensed something was off, but she decided now wasn't the time to question or argue. "Alright. Now we still have a good three hours or so before we can even think of serving them dinner. We have to think of something forty kids can all enjoy doing."

"There's forty-four, not counting Camila. I did a head count," Carl corrected casually. "How about a movie?"

"Hmm…one problem. How will they all fit around the television? Our family struggles as it is."

"Not a problem. I can download whatever they want to watch and project on a wall anywhere."

"Oh, in that case, why don't we save that activity for after dinner since it will make our job easier."

"Good idea. How about hide and seek?"

Tallulah raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding right? Do I even need to tell you what's wrong with that idea?"

"Right. Okay, next idea…I'm currently out of ideas."

"Maybe you're on to something though."

"I am?"

"An interactive game."

"But they're playing an interactive game right now."

"No, I mean one that won't require them to take turns and lose patience."

"I don't mean to be rude, but you're really not making much sense."

"I've got it! A scavenger hunt!" Tallulah exclaimed.

"Hey, that's a pretty good idea. But what would they be looking for and what exactly how would we make it work."

"The kids can split up into two teams."

"Of twenty two?"

"It'll be tricky, but we can make it work. Anyways, while I'm explaining it to them, you can pick a series of random things around the house for them to go after," Tallulah continued.

"I guess, I could just generate the list of items and clues randomly," Carl thought aloud.

"Brilliant!"

"And then you can come back and each of us will referee a team. Ooh, and the team that finds all of the items first could win the right to choose which movie we watch tonight!" Tallulah was becoming more and more excited by the thought.

"I guess it could work."

"I think it will. It's interactive and allows them to run all over the house without us losing track of them."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Carl was becoming more and more confident in Tallulah's sudden burst of inspiration by the moment. "I'll go work on making those lists."

--The Library--

"I wonder how Carl and Tallulah are doing with that many kids to take care of. I mean, when we left it was a pretty big mess," Wilbur stopped reading for a moment and pondered.

"Well, if I know that bunch, which I do, you can bet they're not making it easy on them. But I'm sure they're all fine. We just really need to focus," Camila answered.

"What are we even looking for? We've gone through several books with confusing mathematical equations as it is. How will we know which one is the one we need?"

Camila sighed and closed the book she had just finished speed reading. "I don't know. Can't you tell I'm already stressed about this, Wilbur? I might be smart, but I'm nowhere near as smart as your dad. Only he knows the intentions of what he wanted the machine to do when he last worked with it. I'm only guessing based on what I can gather from the mathematical equations. I'm really worried I won't be able to fix it."

Wilbur was shocked by her honesty and sudden vulnerability. "You know, I'm probably going to regret passing up this once in a lifetime chance to completely bask in your failure later, but I guess I should say something encouraging."

"Don't bother straining yourself. I'll be fine," Camila didn't want to hear any kind words from him.

"As much as I really want to take that advice…I think you can do it. I mean, of all the people to be able to fix this problem, you're at the top of the list," it was obvious that Wilbur was forcing himself to say it.

Camila wanted to believe him, but found it difficult. "You're just saying that because you need my brain or your family's stuck like that."

"Well, I…wait a second…that's it!"

"What's it? You found the equation we need? Because I find that very hard to believe."

"No…and hey! I meant that I think I might know a solution. I'll be honest; I'm at a total loss at how to help you figure this out."

"Is that so?" Camila asked sarcastically.

"Yeah. I'm more of a suave Bond-type. I let others do the miniscule brain work for me and I handle the action," Wilbur said egotistically.

"Miniscule?" he was beginning to work Camila's patience.

"Alright, not the best choice of words. The point is, _I'm_ not the one with the brain to help you, but my dad _is_."

"And Wilbur finally cracks." Camila looked at him closely, trying to figure out if he was out of his mind. "Wilbur, your dad is stuck in that room. If he wasn't, then we wouldn't even be here."

"Not that dad. My other dad."

"You have two dads? I guess that explains why you're nothing like him…"

"I am too like my dad!" Wilbur said quite defensively.

"I'm sorry. I guess that was kind of mean, even if it was directed towards you."

"I'll review your apology and get back to you," Wilbur answered, not really wanting to even talk to Camila anymore. "I'm going to go back in time with my dad's time machine and bring his younger self here to help. Two big brains in one room might be the answer."

"You mean, you can really do that?" Camila stared at him with wide eyes.

"Yep, I've done it several times. Me and my dad are like best friends now."

"That is so cool. I wish I could do that…you know, go back in time and find my parents." There was a bit of an awkward silence between them. Wilbur had somehow forgotten that Camila was an orphan. She seemed so strong and independent. It was even more awkward to hear her talk when she let down her guard. However, Camila didn't let it last for too long. "Alright, Robinson. Let's go get your dad."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Not so fast! You're going back to my house to wait. I'm going to go by myself to get him and bring him back. Got it?"

"No, I most certainly do not got it! I'm the other half to the solution to your problem. I'm going."

"Are not."

"Are too."

"Are not."

"And we're not going to stand here all day arguing about it either. Now let's go."

"Nope, I'm staying right here until you agree that you're not going," Wilbur crossed his arms and planted his feet.

"Alright, Mr. Stubborn. Two can play that game. And just for the record, I always win."

--The Robinson House--

"Okay, second clue," one of the kids read out loud to Tallulah's group. "When you see a house, I can be just as wide. I am rectangle or square or encircle with pride."

"A floor!" another kid shouted.

"Shh," several others scolded. "The other team is trying to listen to us."

"Besides, floors don't really encircle do they?" a girl pointed out.

"Oh, I know!" Talia whispered excitedly and they all ran to consult where the other team couldn't hear them.

Tallulah giggled at their youthful enthusiasm. She was about to follow them when she realized that Buzz, and a few other boys that seemed to follow his lead at all times, were looking at her intently. "Aren't you going to go help your team figure out the clue?"

"I'd much rather crack the clue to your heart," Buzz said precociously.

"What?" Tallulah was taken back.

"Are you married?"

"No…" Tallulah answered hesitantly.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

Tallulah suddenly realized what Buzz was getting at. And although she found it amusing, it was also slightly uncomfortable. "You know, that is a very good question. I don't have a boyfriend yet, but I might very soon." She didn't realize that, although she meant she wanted to date Johnny Vantino, Buzz thought that she meant him.

"Well, I hope you like winners," Buzz said macho-like. "Come on guys, let's go beat those losers," he taunted the other team as the passed by.

"What was that about?" Carl asked as he let his team deliberate over their next clue.

"I think I was just hit on by a twelve year old," Tallulah said with a laugh.

"_Uh-huh_…well, that's awkward."

"You're telling me. The only guy interested in me isn't even a guy…he's a munchkin!"

"That's not what I meant..."

"I mean, just one decent guy," Tallulah continued, not listening to Carl. "Is that too much to ask? Or is it that I only appeal to little headstrong boys and men who _haven't_ met my mom?" It was more of a statement than a question and was followed by an annoyed huff.

"You know what, you obviously need a little space to work this out, so I'm just gonna go, uh, check up on my team," Carl backed away slowly before making a quick getaway.

"Great. Even robots don't understand me," Tallulah sighed and went to go find her team.


	6. When In Doubt, Ask Daddy!

**A/N- **Alright... It took way too long to update but again -if you've read any of _Artificial Romance_ you may already know- it was due to the untimely death of my aunt. I just have a handful of author notes. First, I have it as 2009 in Lewis's time but he's only 13 still because he has yet to celebrate his 14th birthday. Also, Wilbur is still 13 since he can go and visit any version of his dad that he likes with the time machine. Secondly, I took liberty with how Lewis might have invented Carl to work. Thirdly, I guesstimated with Laszlo and Tallulah's ages since like no one really knows and if you read any of my other fanfictions with them, I can assure you I don't keep their ages consistent through out them all. Finally, _Homeland Security_ is completely from my own twisted imagination.

The Time Pause 3000 still belongs to Robin (doodlegirll) which I slightly hint at in this chapter...had Wilbur not been cut off...

* * *

**When In Doubt, Ask Daddy!**

"Wow, so retro," Camila commented her thoughts aloud.

"Shhh!" Wilbur snapped. "First you beg to come along so I let you and now you're talking even though I told you to be quiet?"

"Why do we have to be quiet again?"

"Because, we're invisible remember? There's only one person who can know we're here…and I already know he's not going to be too happy to see you."

"And why's that?"

"Altering the time stream, that's why," Wilbur explained as if it were common knowledge although he had always ignored the fact himself.

"You're here altering it too, Robinson," Camila spat back, proving once again that she was a match to be reckoned with.

Wilbur just rolled his eyes and shushed her again. "Follow me," he whispered.

"One problem, Mr. Definitely No Einstein. I can't see you," Camila pointed out.

Wilbur stopped in his tracks. She was right, as much as it annoyed him to have to admit to it, but he hadn't thought that they couldn't see one another. He sighed, wishing that he could think of another way than the plan that entered his mind but he couldn't. "Hold out your arm."

"What?"

"Just do it."

"Okay…it's out."

Wilbur sighed again and began grabbing the air until finally he found her arm. Startled by the sudden touch from Wilbur's hand, Camila jumped a little. "What was that for?"

"What was what?" she tried to hide the embarrassment in her voice.

"You know perfectly well what. You flinched! I know I'm not your favorite person but I don't have some horrible disease or anything," Wilbur said defensively.

"I never said you did, Wilbur. You just startled me, that's all. I wasn't expecting you to grab my arm."

"Well, why else would I tell you to hold it out? You know, for a genius…" Wilbur didn't finish because he thought he heard someone around the corner. "Shhh," he said barely audible. Sure enough, Carl's much younger prototype came racing by but was gone before they could barely blink. "He sure was running fast," Wilbur said when he was certain they were alone again. "If I know Carl, there must be something wrong for him to be in such a hurry. Come on, we should hurry too," Wilbur said and began dragging Camila quickly behind him.

--Robinson House Foyer--

"We won! We won! We won!" Talia jumped up and down exclaiming.

"Yes, you did," Tallulah smiled at the little girl's endless enthusiasm.

"So what are we going to watch?" Talia immediately asked.

"I elect we let Talia decide," Buzz said, obviously trying to impress Tallulah. "You know, since she did so well for her age."

"Well, that's for your team to decide together," Tallulah wasn't buying it. "Your whole team, Buzz. However, please no fighting. We all have to compromise, so if you can't come up with a unanimous decision, Carl and I will pick three random and appropriate movies and then we'll bring it to a vote. Understood?" Tallulah wasn't ready to have twenty-two kids arguing over a movie.

"That is a most excellent decision," Buzz responded cheekily.

"Lefty has just finished setting up dinner in the music lounge," Carl reported as he rejoined the bunch.

"Thank goodness that machine didn't affect him," Tallulah sighed.

"Hey, that gives me an idea!" Carl said excitedly. He leaned closer to Tallulah and whispered so that the kids wouldn't hear, "I think I know a way to keep the kids entertained through dinner. Just keep them here for about five minutes longer before taking them to the lounge." He then turned and left as quickly as possible.

"Okay…everyone, before we go to dinner, have any of you given any thought about what you want to watch?" she looked specifically at the group of children who had won the scavenger hunt and had obviously been talking amongst themselves.

They nodded in unison. "We want to watch _Homeland Security_," Talia said.

"I've never heard of it."

"It's a movie about a boy who is about to be adopted by a delegate of the U.N. and his wife but on the eve of his going to live with them, they are both abducted. Determined to find the people who were to be his parents, the boy runs away and soon finds himself at the center of a political battle for power between two nations," another kid, a movie buff, answered. "Wanda was going to let us watch it the night of the grand opening of the new orphanage, but she won't mind if we watch it tonight instead."

"Alright, _Homeland Security_ it is then." Tallulah thought it sounded okay enough since Wanda had promised them anyhow. "Okay, who's hungry?"

The kids didn't answer. Instead they charged past her and towards the music lounge. She spun quickly on their tails, hoping that Carl was ready for them with his surprise entertainment. She heard the familiar sound of music. Sure enough, it was Frankie and the band performing for the kids who seemed utterly excited by the singing frogs. They had already sat down to eat and were bobbing along to the infectious rhythms that the frogs were executing perfectly with their instruments.

Tallulah just stood there amazed as Carl came over to her. "Your comment made me realize that the band wouldn't have been affected by the ray either. So, I thought they could give us a hand. After all, they love to give a performance whenever they can."

"You know what, Carl. I'm even happier that the machine didn't have any effect on you," she smiled at him and then looked back at the children.

"Me too," he answered with a nervous gulp.

--The Lab 2009--

"Uh, I think something strange is going on with my system," Carl said in a panicky voice to Lewis as he entered the lab.

"What's wrong, Carl?" Lewis turned his attention away from what he was working on and looked at his worried robot.

"Well, it's just that my radar keeps indicating that there's an unsteady force in the area. I honed in on it and it appears to be a whole in the time space continuum," Carl printed out a reading through his mouth and handed it to Lewis as proof. "I guess my radar is busted."

"No, I don't think it is," Lewis said, looking around the room slowly, listening for the slightest sound. He placed the paper on the desk next to him and walked a little ways away. He then winked at Carl, who was obviously confused, and then spun around quickly and said, "Freeze! I know you're there, Wilbur, so you can turn off the invisi-belt."

"How did you know?" Wilbur pushed a button, revealing himself.

"A father always knows. Even when his son technically hasn't even been born yet."

"Man, that is not cool." Wilbur suddenly noticed Carl. "Hey! You got Carl working!"

Lewis didn't answer. Instead he looked at his son's hand. "Wilbur, what are you holding on to?"

"Oh, I uh, I…" Wilbur suddenly remembered Camila. He let go quickly hoping to talk his way out of it, but before he could, Camila revealed herself as well.

Lewis gasped. "Who is that!? Your girlfriend?? You had the nerve to bring your girlfriend with you!? It's bad enough that you keep messing with the time stream, but now someone else to mess it up even more? Wilbur, what were you thinking!?

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Time out! I hate to interrupt this pep talk…actually, no I don't. First of all, she is NOT my girlfriend. She's not even really my friend, no offense," he directed the last part to Camila.

"None taken because I agree," she answered with a smug tone.

"And secondly, we're not here to mess with the time stream. We're here because we need help. I would have come alone, but miss smarty pants here just had to tag along," Wilbur glared at her.

Lewis sighed, "What is it now?"

"It's the future."

"I sort of guessed that already," Lewis said sarcastically.

"Oh, yeah, right. Okay, you have this new invention, see…although it's sort of an old invention. Basically just a silly rip off of the Time Pause 3000, which now that I think about it, is actually a rip off from…" Wilbur stopped when he saw Lewis, Camila, and even Carl staring at him, obviously wanting him to get on with it. "Basically, I pushed a button and now all of the adults within a half mile radius are uh frozen in time."

"What!?"

"And that's not all," Camila took over, realizing that Wilbur had already buried himself into a hole that he didn't know how to climb out of too quickly. "Your future self had invited myself and the rest of the orphanage to stay a few days until the new orphanage is opened for us. So now there's 44 other kids running around at your future house."

"44 kids? And you, not you," he looked at Camila forgivingly and then looked at Wilbur, "you left them alone!?"

"No, I'm not that irresponsible," Wilbur said defensively but of course now wasn't the time to try and convince his young dad of that. "Carl wasn't affected."

"Phew!" came the other robot's response.

Lewis just looked at him with a raised eyebrow and then back at Wilbur. "So you left Carl alone with 44 kids?"

"That's not very nice!" Carl whimpered. "I don't know if I like the sound of what my future holds…"

"Not now, Carl," Wilbur brushed him aside, not remembering that this Carl wasn't use to his bossiness towards him.

"Not now? I may not know much about my future yet, but if I'm anything like I am now, I can tell you this, there's no way I can handle 44 kids alone!! I didn't even like helping your dad here help babysit his one year old second cousin!"

"And I did most of the work," Lewis laughed at the remembrance of how Carl had thought Laszlo was an evil little monster bent on destroying all robots when he had thrown up on him. "Carl's right. You shouldn't have left him alone with that many kids to look after."

"But he's not alone," Wilbur intervened. "Tallulah had been out somewhere so wasn't affected either. So now she's there helping him."

"Wait, who's Tallulah?" Carl asked, suddenly curious. He had met everyone in Lewis's family that past Christmas, which had been his first.

"She's Laszlo's sister," Lewis explained to him. "She won't be born for I'd say another 3-4 years if my math is right."

"And it probably is since you're a genius," Camila complimented him.

"Thank you," Lewis smiled, still leery of having another visitor from the future.

"You mean to tell me…your aunt Petunia's going to have another one of those little, little…" he wanted to use a word like monster or brat but was afraid he would offend his inventor.

"Bundles of joy…yes. And once that happens, there will never be peace and quiet in the Robinson house again…especially after they come to live with us," Lewis said, remembering how Laszlo and Tallulah had been fighting the very first time he'd met them.

"There's never any peace and quiet now," Carl pointed out.

"That's true."

"So will you come back with us and help or not?" Wilbur finally asked.

"The problem is, sir, uh, Wilbur's dad, uh…" Camila wasn't sure if she could just call him Lewis. "I'm really smart myself, but I'm not smart enough to figure the equations out on my own."

"And two big brains are better than one…although I wonder if one is really just a big head minus the big brain," Wilbur added under his breath.

"I guess I don't have much of a choice. Tallulah might be of some help, but still 44 outnumbers 2."

"By 22!" Wilbur interjected, wanting to sound smart too.

"Don't you mean by 42?" Carl pointed out.

"No, silly robot, 22 times 2 is 44. Even I know that."

"But this isn't multiplication, it's subtraction!" Camila exclaimed.

Wilbur realized his error, but instead of admitting to it, he just crossed his arms and huffed. "Come on, we need to get back before they vaporize the house or something."

"Wilbur, those kids are better behaved than you are, I bet," Lewis joked.

"Well, most of them…but you'd be surprised," Camila couldn't lie.

"Alright, let's go then," Lewis said as they all began to walk towards the door. He then realized that Carl was also following.

"Wait, Carl, I don't think you should…"

"Please, can I go? Can I, can I, can I!? I promise I won't alter the future. I'll stay out of sight at all times. Please?"

"Alright, you can come. But you stay with me at all times, understood?"

"Okay!" Carl exclaimed and hurried outside as fast as his robotic legs could carry him.

"Why is he acting like such a…" Wilbur struggled to find the words he was looking for.

"Little kid?" Lewis filled in the blanks and Wilbur nodded. "It's because technically he is like a little kid. I haven't programmed him with everything that the Carl in the future has. He's just a basic robot with basic comprehension. He only knows what I know. As I grow and learn more, I'll continue to improve him and he'll grow and learn more."

"So basically, he's a 13 year old robot?"

"Maybe even younger since I programmed him to learn about normal life on his own. He's as much of a genius as I am when it comes to math and science and other studies. But I wanted him to have a life and soul of his own. So he learns about being human, so to speak, by asking questions and experiencing things."

"That's really ingenious," Camila said with a sense of awe in her voice.

"Thank you. I did it because I didn't want Carl to be just a robot who follows my commands."

"Instead, he wanted Carl to be a lippy robot who never trusts his little buddy even when he's right," Wilbur finished.

"Poor Carl, what was I thinking," Lewis joked. "I guess it's back to the drawing board."

"Ha ha, very funny," Wilbur rolled his eyes as they walked out of the front door.


	7. Save The Last Dance

**A/N- **Okay, I'm extremely thrilled with a part of this chapter even if no one else turns out to be. I usually don't ever incorporate music into my fanfics...at least I haven't since my Hey Arnold fanfic in the 8th grade :P Anyways, but I guess I'd been listening to waaaaay to much Michael Buble at the time. The two songs that I use in this are _Everything_ and _Save The Last Dance For Me_. Of course, I shortened them for use in this fanfic. If you have not heard either, than I highly suggest them. You can listen to both free on the home page of Michael Buble's official website. I hope that the dance movements make sense as I was merely describing them as I saw it in my mind's eye. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoy the thought of Carl once being a kid-like robot. Why? Basically because I'd like to hear Harland Williams acting like that...almost in a Jonathan Winters type way (this is the part that makes sense to fellow Mork and Mindy fans :P). For those who haven't ready any of my other current fic, Artificial Romance, I will be unlikely to update for the next two weeks. This week I'm swamped with schoolwork, and now the added stress of something horrible that is happening to my best friend and the week after that I will be away from a computer to update. So, I wish I could say that this chapter is longer to make up for that, but sadly it's not. And it drives me nuts since I know that this is the first chapter where things start getting interesting...atleast I hope so, if not, guess I've failed miserably :P Oh by the way, Jacoby says that last line like that on purpose : )

* * *

**Save The Last Dance**

Dinner had been finished and the tables cleared and moved to make more room and still the kids didn't want to leave their private concert. As another song finished and Tallulah suggested they get ready to go watch the movie they complained and insisted that they weren't ready.

"I haven't downloaded the movie to my system yet anyways," Carl spoke up. "Besides, this might definitely help with releasing some of their energy," he whispered to her.

"Well, it depends on the band," Tallulah said in consideration to the frogs.

"Hey, as long as the crowd is ringin' and the band is swingin' oh Frankie here'll keep on singin'. Hit it boys," Frankie instructed and the band started up again. "_You're a falling star. You're the getaway car. You're the line in the sand when I go too far._"

"Come on! Let's dance everyone!" Talia exclaimed and grabbed Carl's hands, quite to the confusion of the un-expecting robot. He looked at Tallulah for help but she simply smiled and laughed.

All of the other kids joined in and before she knew what was happening, Buzz was attempting to dance with Tallulah. Now she was the one wanting a little help, but decided dancing for a few moments didn't matter.

"_You're the swimming pool, on an August day. And you're the perfect thing to say_." Suddenly, the kids got the notion to rotate partners in almost a square-dance style and before they knew what was happening, Tallulah and Carl found themselves dancing together.

At first, it seemed a little awkward for some reason, especially for Carl, but it wasn't long before the music took hold, and with a smile from Tallulah they danced without thinking anymore of it. "_And you play it coy, but it's kinda cute. Ah, when you smile at me you know exactly what you do. Baby, don't pretend that you don't know it's true. Cause you can see it when I look at you._"

All of the kids stopped dancing and stood back to watch Tallulah and Carl dance together ballroom or 40's jazz lounge style in what seemed like perfect step and rhythm to the song. Only Buzz seemed a little huffy that he had lost his dance partner. As for Tallulah and Carl, they hadn't even noticed the new change of setting. Instead, they were lost in their dance.

"_And in this crazy life and through these crazy times, it's you, it's you, you make me sing. You're every line; you're every word; you're everything_."

The kids began clapping in rhythm with the music and some were even singing, more like chanting, along, as Carl held up his hand and Tallulah began to twirl around and around. "_So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La. So, La, La, La, La, La, La, La_."

As Tallulah finished the last twirl which spun her back into Carl's arms, she finally realized what was happening with herself and the kids. Although it was slightly embarrassing, she also realized that they seemed to be enjoying it so she just turned her attention back to Carl, who was still unaware of what was going on, and felt herself caught back up into the music and dance as it built to a crescendo.

"_And in this crazy life and through these crazy times it's you, it's you, you make me sing. You're every line; you're every word; you're everything_." Suddenly the music slowed and on cue so did Carl and Tallulah's dancing. "_You're every song, and I sing along. Cause you're my everything_."

Carl spun Tallulah out slowly, back in slowly, and before either knew it Carl twirled Tallulah again and dipped her slowly. Tallulah's eyes fluttered and closed partially as Carl's head hovered just above hers. They seemed frozen in this position, both unaware of the music, the kids, or that the song was coming to a close as Frankie crooned the final La, la la's. Suddenly an escaped squeal of excitement from Talia brought Tallulah's eyes wide open and Carl back to his senses.

They quickly pulled apart as the music finally came to an end the song to its finality. The room seemed so small all of a sudden and both could feel a sense of uneasiness over what had just happened. "Maybe, I should, uh, go download the, you know, the movie," Carl half-whispered.

"Okay," Tallulah could also barely make an audible sound. "I'll just, you know, stay here with the kids."

"Okay," he backed up even more and watched as the kids encircled Tallulah as he did. He could hear them giving her unending praise of how beautiful she was and how beautifully she had danced, each of the girls asking her to teach them and each of the boys asking her to dance with them. Still, through all of this sudden commotion, Carl still felt lost in a haze as his mind literally raced with thoughts of his dancing with Tallulah. He stood against the wall for a moment and tried to steady himself and bring himself back to normal, hoping to just forget what had happened, but the sound of a new song and Tallulah now taking turns dancing with all of the kids didn't help matters any.

"_You can dance-every dance with the guy who gives you the eye, let him hold you tight_._ You can smile every smile for the man who held your hand 'neath the pale moon light_," Frankie was crooning again and the way the words seemed to match the mood seemed to bother Carl even more. Finally, he shook his head, composing himself enough, and walked towards the door to go and get the movie ready. However, he stopped and looked back at Tallulah one last time, who was now dancing with Buzz, who was obviously not about to let go. He then noticed that Frankie was staring directly at him, more than just a little suspicious, as he continued singing, "_But don't forget who's takin' you home. And in whose arms you're gonna be. So darling save the last dance for me_…" the sound grew further and further away as Carl pulled himself away from the room and into clearer air where he hoped he'd be able to clear his head.

--Lewis' Lawn--

"Why didn't you think to check the gage!?" Lewis was trying really hard not to lose his temper entirely as they all stood around the almost completely fuel-less time machine, still in the past.

"Well, to be honest…"

"Yes, honest. I'd prefer that to a lie."

"I was too busy arguing with Camila to notice. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Camila felt the need to apologize since she was partially to blame for starting the argument in the first place.

"I really don't know what to think," Lewis rubbed his temples. "Are you sure it won't be enough?"

"I don't know. It should be enough to get us to the future, but definitely not enough to get us all the way to the house. Hate to tell you this, but you didn't make this thing to get the best mileage," Wilbur tried to lighten the mood.

"Not now," Lewis warned.

"This is horrible! My future self is doomed! Doomed!" Carl began running around, waving his hands above his head in a panic.

"Okay, now is one of those times when I'd say that making a robot to grow mentally like a child is _not_ ingenious," Camila said as they watched the robot.

"Actually, he's prone to panic in the future too."

"I wonder why," Camila said, obviously implying that it was because he had to deal with Wilbur all the time.

"Hey! I can't help it if Carl stresses easy!" Wilbur defended.

"Alright, you two, enough! We need to think of what we can do. I'm not so worried about what's going on in the future, I'm more concerned with destroying the future because the two of you being here in the past for too long." Both Wilbur and Camila shrunk back at the unusually harsh tone in Lewis' voice. "I don't mean to be hostile, I'm just worried okay. I'm going to give it some thought so I'd like to have quiet. Why don't the two of you go chase down Carl and reassure him everything will be alright."

"Will it be alright?" Camila eyed them both questioningly.

"Sure, me and Lewis have been in much stickier situations than this. And he is a genius, so he'll think of something, you see," Wilbur said as they left his dad behind them and went to find Carl.

"So, is it weird knowing your dad's younger self?"

"Not as weird as having your dad's younger self as a best friend. But it's cool cause me and my dad are tight because of it now."

"That sounds nice," there was a hint of something in Camila's voice and Wilbur recognized it from the way Lewis used to talk.

"I didn't mean to…" Wilbur stopped for a moment. "I guess I haven't been very sensitive to you and your…condition."

"Condition!?" Wilbur couldn't have chosen a worse word had he tried to deliberately. "What do you mean my condition? You mean my being an orphan? You make it sound like it's a disease."

"Well, I uh…"

"But, no matter how much I'd rather not, I'll cut you a break this time since I know you were at least attempting an apology," Camila interrupted Wilbur's fumbling. "Yeah, it would be nice to have a mom and dad, let alone be close to them, but I don't let it get me down. Actually, your dad has been an inspiration to me ever since Mildred visited one time and told us all about him and some other orphans that had been adopted when she had run the orphanage. That's why being here and seeing how things can change for the better when you least expect it is even more inspiring."

"Well, you know, I helped him. If it weren't for me, he might have never fixed the memory scanner. So I'm kind of like a hero," Wilbur said egotistically.

"Look, there's Carl!" Camila pointed and ran after him.

"You just don't want to admit that I'm right!" Wilbur followed after her until they both reached the robot. "Carl, calm down. Everything will be alright."

"You don't know that."

"I promise, Carl," Wilbur tried again.

"You're just saying that but really you know that it's not true," Carl said stubbornly.

Wilbur huffed. Then a thought came to him and he reached into his backpack and pulled out a small family album, which was just one of the several things that were stuffed in there for no reason at all. But he was glad to have this otherwise useless object today. "Look," he opened it and flipped a few pages. "This is the future you. I want to prove that you are a more than capable robot when it comes to handling any crisis."

All three watched the hologram that was being illuminated from the books pages. It showed Carl running towards a closet in which he then hid in. "I'm hiding in a closet?" Carl looked at him unbelievably. "Well, that just proves so much!"

"Oh, uh, wrong picture," Wilbur flipped a few pages back and then re-showed it to them. This time it was Carl taking care of Wilbur as a four year, helping him reach a jar of cookies that Franny had put in an unreachable spot for him. "See, not only did you help me, you did it because you cared for me and because you knew how to shut a little kid up…and that's really all that counts in a situation like this."

"Bribery?" Carl asked.

"The universal language of all children. Trust me; you have had enough experience with me to manage 44 more using your skills."

"4-4-4-44 more…" Carl stuttered, his eyes staring blankly straight ahead at nothing in particular.

"Well, that was convincing," Camila said, her voice drenched in sarcasm.

"Well, that was convincing," Wilbur mimicked. "Don't mind her, Carl. And don't mind the 44 kids. We already told you you're not alone, remember? As long as Tallulah's there with you, you'll be fine."

"But what if they tied her up or worse ate her?"

"They're kids, not cannibals. Seriously, Carl, what does dad let you watch on T.V.? Let me see if I..." Wilbur thought aloud as he flipped through the pages of his album again. "Oh, they are. On this page you can clearly see Tallulah when she was younger babysitting me. I admit that I eventually gave her the slip but for up until then, she was a wonderful babysitter…much better than Laszlo. And on this next page you'll see that now she is a very capable woman who is into fashion design. And from what I hear, it's a vicious world filled with spoiled brats who act like they've never grown up themselves so you see, she is more than able to help handle this…Carl?"

Carl was still staring at the hologram image of Tallulah putting finishing touches on a dress that was on a mannequin. "She does seem very capable," he finally managed.

"I only met her for a brief moment, but she definitely seemed to have a good head on her shoulders," Camila chimed in.

"Well, then, I suppose that my future self is more than okay."

"See, that's the spirit," Wilbur cheered. As he did so, he slammed the album book shut, breaking Carl's gaze. "Now let's see if Lewis has come up with any plans to get us to the future."

"I sure hope so," Carl said. He suddenly had a desire to meet this Tallulah and thank her for her help and maybe even compliment her on her ability.

--The Lab--

"I don't know what to do, Jacoby," Carl talked to his friend as he downloaded the film the kids had chosen.

"What you do is you just admit that you have feelings for her."

"Feelings for her? Ha!" Frankie interrupted the conversation as he came into the lab. "They're both so far gone their heads have lost sight of their heels."

"Excuse me?" Carl asked in a tone mixed with confusion and annoyance.

"Frankie here saw da whole ting. You's suddenly got sumptin' for the girl and she just might got the same sumptin' for you."

"What are you talking about!? I most definitely don't have 'sumptin' for Tallulah and she can't stop going on and on about Johnny Vantino!" There was hint of hostility that didn't go unnoticed.

"Oh, I see…so that's what this sudden change is about. For da first time there's a man in da picture dat has captured da girl's affection and it's makin' your robotic heart see tings a little differently. Is dat it?"

"I'm not sure what you just said, but based on everything else you said, I'm going to say no."

"You're jealous, flat head. And it's a jealousy stemmin' from your long hidden emotions, capice?"

"Jealous? Are you crazy?"

"I think he's got a point," Jacoby chimed in.

"Yeah, well, I don't. So now if you'll excuse me, the kids are waiting. And it would be rude if I left Tallulah alone with them. I am by no means in a hurry because I want to see her or anything similar in nature. Good-bye, Jacoby. Frankie." Carl left the room at a normal, unhurried, confident pace.

"Dat's da worse case of denial I've seen in a long time," Frankie said once Carl was gone.

"Frankie, boy, you said a moutful."


	8. The Robot With The Green Eyes

**A/N- **I'm back! Well, part time. I'm still swamped with finals, but I managed to write another chapter of this story, so I just had to post it as soon as possible. It's not the most exciting chapter...well, maybe the end is, but depending on how I organize upcoming material, the next chapter might be more exciting. And for those who don't know, this story is only the first in my T/C trilogy...so if you get discouraged thinking that nothing has materialized by time the story is done...please don't get too discouraged. There's two more stories! There's two very slight refs in this chapter. First, there's a wink at _Honey, I Blew Up the Kid_ because I used to watch that movie over and over! Second, the "spherical" comment is a wink at a very complex time travel theory...but a very fascinating theory since it was made public AFTER the release of MTR. Hmm, the crew was on to something and they might not have even known it!

* * *

**The Robot With The Green Eyes**

"What a day," Tallulah sighed as she went over to sit down next to Carl, who was back aways from the kids, projecting the movie on the wall. "I can honestly say that I'm glad that I don't have any kids of my own. Who knew they could be such a handful?!"

"I did, remember?" Carl answered, reminding her of their conversation the day before.

"Oh, right," there was silence. Both were still feeling the awkwardness of what had happened earlier, but neither had had nerve to discuss it.

Carl, especially, couldn't stop thinking about it. He couldn't get Frankie's words out of his mind. They repeated over and over like a nagging broken record. He sighed and shook his head slightly. _Don't worry about what anyone says. You know it's not true_, Carl kept telling himself.

"What's wrong?" Tallulah hadn't missed the sigh.

"I guess like you said, it's been a long day," Carl answered. It wasn't a lie, because it had been a long day and he was just wishing it were over already.

"But it's almost over," Tallulah seemed to know his wishes or shared them. "It's almost over," she repeated again, either trying to remain positive or else convince herself that it was really almost over.

"Today, yes, but what about tomorrow? What happens if Camila can't fix that machine?" Carl asked with a hint of dread in his voice. "I would fix it myself if I could but, unless I learn it on my own, I never get any smarter until Cornelius adds it to my primary chip. And he never does that until after a new invention is out of the prototype stage. Of course, I could be the one trying to download as much new info as I can on my own to help the Camila, but I did that once before and nearly fried my system because I downloaded a bad batch…"

"No, no, no. It's okay, Carl. Your help is needed here anyway and it's been a lot, that's the truth," Tallulah couldn't imagine taking care of all of the kids on her own. When she had first arrived, Carl had needed all the help he could get but now he seemed to be more in control of the situation. "All of those years with Wilbur prepared _you_, huh?" she asked with a playful grin.

"I guess you could say that. But I'm not so sure I can rule out all the years of torture that I had to help Cornelius babysit your brother."

Tallulah couldn't contain herself and suddenly went into a loud fit of laughter. It warranted several "shh's" from the kids and a "let her laugh or else," from Buzz. Still, Tallulah didn't want to ruin the movie so she quickly stifled the rest of her laughs with her hand as best as she could until she was able to get her laughing under control. When she finally thought she was okay again, she looked over at Carl and saw that he was staring at her with a completely amused look on his face and it was so comical that she began laughing again.

"Do you need some water or something?" Carl quickly asked after suddenly realizing that he was actually somewhat enraptured by the sound of Tallulah's laughter.

She shook her head, trying to say something between the laughs, but failing, held up one finger to signal that she needed just a moment. Finally, the laughing subsided and she took a deep breath, held it in for a few seconds and then let it release. "I'm sorry, but I was just imagining you babysitting my brother. I couldn't think of a more cruel form of punishment if I even tried."

"He _did_ have a habit of, uh, throwing up a lot," Carl said delicately.

"Oh, I know. I remember when we were younger; he'd get motion sickness so easily. I hated sitting in the backseat with him, and sometimes I think he _aimed_ at me! Thankfully, Cornelius finally invented something to make it stop. I mean, could you just imagine if he still had motion sickness and he always flew around with that hat of his!?"

"I'd…I'd rather not," Carl answered honestly.

"You're right! I'd rather not either," Tallulah giggled. "Did you ever have to babysit me?" Tallulah asked, suddenly curious.

"Actually, only once that I can remember," Carl answered. "You see, Lucille thought it best that a girl babysit you and your brother after you came along and so she asked Franny and Franny was delighted to do so, but of course she got paid for it. I think the real reason why was because I helped Lewis babysit you both one day and well, his shrink ray prototype made you really big instead! Needless to say, Lucille wasn't too happy about it and it killed our reputations as babysitters, but it was fine by me," Carl confessed.

"Wow, I've never heard that story!" Tallulah said with amazement.

"Really? I'd think Laszlo was old enough to remember, but it's strange what the brain chooses to remember and what it chooses to forget."

"That's true."

"Well, at least none of these kids have been made any bigger!"

"No, but as always, there's a prototype gone wrong. So it's déjà vu for me," Carl joked.

"Yes, well…" Tallulah stopped. She had been thinking about the machine and a new thought occurred to her. "Where's Wilbur and Camila? The library should have been closed hours ago!"

"Little buddy!" Carl also panicked at the sudden realization that they hadn't yet seen or heard from the two in over 6 hours. "I've got to find them!" the robot exclaimed rather loudly, warranting more "shh's."

"I'm just as worried, but I think we should let the children finish the movie first."

"I guess …" Carl's every-worrying personality betrayed his confidence in Tallulah's suggestion.

"Well, how about I go see if I can get a hold of anyone at the library, or anyone really."

"Try contacting him with his receiver. He usually has it on hand. Just use the phone in the lab," Carl suggested.

"That's genius, Carl!" Tallulah agreed anxiously to the idea and hurried away to the lab. Carl purposely chose not to watch as she did. Instead, he kept his eyes straight ahead.

--Lewis' Yard--

Meanwhile, Wilbur and Camila were still in the past, trying to think of a solution. However, they had stopped for awhile so that Lewis could at least look over Camila's notes. They all sat around on the ground near the time machine, except for Carl, who was studying the time machine with great curiosity.

"I understand some of this, most of it really, but there are just a few strings of equations that I've never seen before. For example," Lewis pointed to a long line of inexplicable mathematical and scientific numbers, variables and symbols grouped together to suggest they were all a part of the same long equation.

Camila studied it for a moment then let out a sudden, "Oh yeah!"

"Oh, yeah what?" Lewis asked.

"This equation is a post-gravitational equation. That's why you don't recognize it," Camila explained.

"He doesn't recognize it because he hasn't invented it yet," Wilbur added proudly.

"I know that, Wilbur. I was just about to say that before you interrupted."

"Well, he's _my_ dad. I should get to say it," Wilbur huffed defensively.

"Would you both stop bickering and please tell me what post-gravitational means!" Lewis demanded.

"Right now, the earth is limited by gravitational law," Camila began.

"But you're going to find a way to bend the laws of gravity!" Wilbur exclaimed.

"What? I can't bend the laws of gravity!" Lewis was incredulous.

"Sure you can," Wilbur said encouragingly. "Just think spherical."

"Spherical?"

"Mm-hmm," Camila agreed. "It's the only way you could have ever invented a time machine."

"That explains the bubble. So, I'm responsible for this equation?" Lewis asked, studying it again in amazement. "Wow…"

"Yeah, so I guess that means you're also responsible for why my math class is so hard," Wilbur added in an annoyed tone.

"It's only hard because you never try," Camila accused.

"That is not true," Wilbur defended.

"You don't apply yourself," Camila continued.

"Except in areas of mischief," Lewis joked.

"Great, let's all stand around and pick on Wilbur. If I think of a way to get back, I don't know if I'll even let you both in on it," Wilbur threatened.

"Okay, okay," Lewis spoke up. "I'm sorry. Don't do anything too hasty now."

"You? Come up with a way to get back?" Camila asked with a laugh.

"Camila," Lewis' eyebrows narrowed down behind the rims of his glasses.

"Why, you little…" Wilbur began.

"Wilbur," Lewis quickly turned his glare towards his son.

Wilbur would have completely ignored Lewis' warning had it not been for being interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice coming through the receiver he had in his ear. "Tallulah?"

"Wilbur, where are you? You should have been home hours ago. What's going on with the machine?" Tallulah flooded him with questions.

"Hold on, I'm going to transfer you to the time machine," Wilbur said quickly and with the push of a button inside of the machine, Tallulah's voice could be heard over a speaker.

"The time machine?! What do you mean the time machine!? Where exactly are you, Wilbur?"

"No offense, Tallulah, but it's usually Carl's job to call me and freak out over where I'm at," Wilbur averted the question.

"Carl can't right now," Tallulah answered.

"Oh no! They ate me instead!" the past Carl suddenly yelled in panic.

"What was that?" Tallulah asked curiously. "It sounded like Carl."

"Just ignore that," Wilbur answered, and then shot a questioning glance towards his young dad about his robot's odd behavior. Lewis only gave an embarrassed laugh and a shrug of the shoulders.

"Okay, but I'm not going to ignore the fact that you said time machine. I want an answer right now, Wilbur," Tallulah demanded. "Me and Carl are worried about you and Camila. You need to come home soon."

"Well..." Wilbur gave a nervous laugh.

"Well what!?" there was a worried tone in Tallulah's voice.

"We would but…"

"Oh, just let me explain it already," Lewis interrupted.

"Lewis?" Tallulah recognized her young inventor cousin's voice.

"Hi, Tallulah. Wilbur and Camila came back to get me so that I could help with the machine but we ran into a serious problem," Lewis began explaining their dilemma. "Basically, Wilbur forgot to check the fuel in the time machine and now we're not sure if there's enough to get us back."

"That is a dilemma! I have to go tell Carl!"

"No!" Wilbur exclaimed.

"What do you mean no?" Tallulah demanded.

"Carl will just panic and make things worse. He's good at that," Wilbur answered.

"Well, maybe he's good at it because _you're_ good at giving him reasons to panic," Tallulah said in Carl's defense.

"Okay, maybe I do but that's not really important right now. What's important is that we get back…" Wilbur paused and narrowed his eyebrows, deep in thought, "…somehow. I think I know what to do!"

"What?" Tallulah asked in confusion.

"You're kidding right?" Camila asked skeptically.

"No, I'm serious! I'm almost certain I know what to do!" Wilbur exclaimed again. "Tallulah, don't worry about a thing. I promise we'll be fine."

"Okay, Wilbur. I'm trusting you for now, but if you're not home by…" Tallulah's voice faded out quickly as Wilbur hung up on her.

"Yeah, that's the way to prove you're trustworthy," Camila rolled her eyes.

"And it was rude," Lewis added in a fatherly tone. "Now what's the plan?"

--The Lab--

"Thank you so much for understanding. I really wish I could make it tomorrow. I was looking forward to it so much," Tallulah said genuinely. After being hung up on by Wilbur, she had decided to call Johnny Vantino.

"Tallulah," Carl's voice was heard as he was coming up the stairs to the lab. "Did you get in contact with…Wilbur," he stopped when he saw Johnny on the screen.

"I'm sorry, Johnny. I have to go. I promise I won't miss the next lunch. Bye!" Tallulah hung up and turned to face Carl.

"That wasn't Wilbur," Carl said as he pointed to where Johnny had been. His face went from a confused look to an indignant one. "What were you doing?"

"I was talking to Johnny," Tallulah didn't appreciate Carl's sudden tone. "Is that such a problem?" she asked defensively.

"YES! It is when Wilbur and Camila are missing and there are forty-four other kids out there getting more and more restless by the minute now that the movie's over," Carl threw up his hands dramatically.

"Wow, Wilbur was right. You _are_ prone to panic."

"Well, maybe because this is a good reason to panic!" Carl defended himself.

"Let me explain before you short circuit. I had to call Johnny and let him know that I can't make it tomorrow. It's called being polite. The rest of this family may not know the meaning of the word, but I do," she huffed.

"I never said you couldn't be polite, but I really think that we should focus on finding Wilbur and Camila," Carl calmed his voice and tried to act rationally.

"I already found them," Tallulah followed his lead.

"You did!?" Carl was almost furious that she hadn't just told him in the first place. "I mean, you did?" he lowered his voice again.

"Yes. They went back in time to get some help from Lewis. But the time machine is low on fuel so they've been stuck there. But he promised everything will be fine and that we shouldn't worry," Tallulah explained.

"FINE!? We shouldn't worry!? And you trusted him?" This sent Carl back over the edge for good. "What were you thinking? Being stuck in the past is not fine, Tallulah! It could irreparably alter the timeline, especially if Camila's there too. You should have come and told me immediately instead of calling Mr. Whatever His Name Is. Unless you thought _he_ could do something about it. What's soooo great about him that you thought it would be okay to call him instead of coming and telling me about Wilbur and Camila? I just don't understand it!"

"And I don't understand you!" Tallulah lashed back. "What's your problem with Johnny? You sounded annoyed when I mentioned my lunch with him earlier too. You've never even met him!"

"It's not Johnny that's annoying me right now, Tallulah, it's you!" Carl exclaimed, but immediately covered his mouth.

Unfortunately, it was too late and there were already tears brimming in Tallulah's eyes. "I'm sorry. I…I…" Tallulah couldn't even choke anything else out. She pushed past him, and ran out quickly.

"What have I done?" Carl brought his fingertips to his mouth in a worried manner. He couldn't believe what he had just said to Tallulah and he especially couldn't believe how meanly he had said it. "I didn't mean it," he apologized aloud although he knew there was no one around to hear him. He replayed the entire scene in his robotic mind, cringing at the memory of how he must have sounded. He realized how angry he had been when he had seen Johnny on the screen. He normally never would have said something so horrible to Tallulah, not even if she had made him upset. As he thought about it, he realized that it really wasn't Tallulah that his anger had been directed toward. Carl sighed and groaned at the same time, now turning his anger towards himself. "Maybe Frankie was right. Maybe I _am_ jealous.


	9. Sorry For The Words I've Spoken

**A/N- **Okay, back to the story that I was seriously having withdrawals from! Even more so than A.R. because I can just really feel the chemistry building as I write it. Also, I knew from the get go alot of the main things that I want to happen in this story and I already know that it doesn't end after this story cause it's gonna be a trilogy : D So needless to say, this story has me extremely stoked! The joke about Carl running is credited to my sister because she pointed out how goofy Carl looks when he's running on the video game!! And I can't help but laugh, myself, at the thought of girls acting giggly over a robot! Gotta love the future. But hey, I think I'd date Carl : P Carl rocks! Other than that...it's good to be back, so on to the chapter!

* * *

**Sorry For The Words I've Spoken**

Night had finally fallen in Todayland, much to the relief of Carl and Tallulah, although the two hadn't spoken more than a handful of words to one another since the incident in the lab and that was only so that the kids wouldn't get any notions of 'divide and conquer' in their scheming little minds. All of the boys had made bunk in the front room and foyer area with Carl as their chaperone, while the girls bunked in the music lounge with Tallulah.

Of course it didn't mean that everyone fell asleep immediately. Carl spent at least an hour showing off all of his built in gadgets to the curious boys.

"What about a Swiss army knife?" one of Buzz's buddies asked, wanting to know if Carl had it.

"You dweeb, he's already like a walking Swiss army knife! So why would he need one?" Buzz slapped the back of his friend's head as he said it.

"Well, uh, not exactly the nicest way to put it, Buzz, but basically it's true. I don't really need one," Carl answered.

"Well, then, how do you run!?" asked another boy as soon as Carl finished his response.

"I don't know what you mean? How do I run?" Carl was baffled by the question.

"Dude, your feet are like suction cups. That can't make it easy to get anywhere in a hurry," the boy mocked what he imagined the robot ran like as the others laughed.

"Hey! I do not run like that," Carl defended but couldn't help laugh as he looked down at his feet. "I guess I could understand why you'd think that."

"So do you have a thing for Tallulah?" Buzz asked suddenly.

"What?" the question took Carl off guard as all of them stared at him. "Well, do _you_ have a thing for Tallulah?" Carl tried rebounding the question towards the boy.

"Totally! She's the total package," Buzz answered without even giving it another thought as the others cheered him on.

Meanwhile, Tallulah spent time with the girls doing nails and hair and talking about girl stuff. "You're so pretty," one of the girls complimented as Tallulah painted her toe nails.

"Oh, well, thank you," the comment flattered Tallulah. "But so are you. All of you."

"No, I'm not…" the girl sighed in response to the returned compliment.

"Of course you are," Tallulah insisted.

"But I have freckles and braces and ugly hair. I don't have a pretty smile or pretty eyes like you," the little girl argued.

Tallulah though for a moment as she finished up the girl's last toe. She then looked around the room and heaved an inner sigh of relief at what she noted. "Who here has freckles?" she asked and only the same girl raised her hand. "Well, what do you know? It looks like that makes you one of a kind," Tallulah said with a smile. "You know, when I was younger, my friend had braces and after they came off, I was so jealous of her. Every girl was. She had a smile so perfect it was almost a crime. As for your hair, at least you're lucky enough to have a hair color that compliments your eyes," Tallulah said in reference to the fact that her own hair color and eye hair color were extreme opposites almost. "And what beautiful eyes they are. Sparkling because they know they belong to a beautiful face."

The girl smiled a bright smile and hugged Tallulah. "I wish everyone could see what you see."

"What matters is what you see," Tallulah said warmly. "You could compliment me a million times but I could still sit here all night and points out the millions of things that I think are wrong with me. It starts with how I see myself. So how do you see yourself?"

"I'm beautiful," the girl smiled and hugged Tallulah again.

"That's right," Tallulah felt better than she had since her scuffle with Carl. However it was short lived as the conversation took a turn.

"But you are really pretty. I bet Carl thinks so too," one of the girls said with a giggle.

"Carl?" Tallulah's hear jumped at the very mention of his name as she suddenly remembered how he had yelled at her in the lab. "I don't know if that's really the case. I don't think that he thinks that I'm ugly by any means, at least, I hope he doesn't but I don't think he even notices those sorts of things."

"I bet he notices everything!" the girl protested. "He _is_ a robot after all."

"I think he's a dreamy robot," another girl said boldly, sending the group into a round of girlish chattering on the subject.

--The Lab (2037)--

"He's been charging all night," Camila huffed. "Are we sure this is going to work?" Wilbur had remembered that the time machine could be powered for a brief period of time by an old fashioned battery source and now Carl was charging so that he could hook himself up to the time machine and act as that source.

"Face it, Camila," Lewis sighed, growing tired as the night dragged on. "Wilbur got it right. I ran all of the specs and made the necessary modifications to Carl. This should work."

"When will you learn to just trust me?" Wilbur asked Camila smugly.

"When we get back home," Camila said stubbornly, crossing her arms. "At least your grandparents aren't here. Or that could have made matters worse."

"It's a little unusual though. Mom and dad never call at the last minute to tell me I'm going to be staying home alone," Lewis said skeptically and then turned and looked knowingly at his future son. "Wilbur…"

"Okay, so I might have called grandma and grandpa and told them they won a free night's stay at a snazzy hotel," Wilbur admitted.

"A snazzy hotel? And how to pass of that they actually won?" Lewis asked, staring over the rims of his glasses.

"What do you mean?" Wilbur asked, not understanding what his dad meant.

"I mean, what happens when they get there and there's no prize?" Lewis' voice showed a hint of aggravation.

"Oh, that. Yeah, I've got that covered too. I also called the hotel and told them that a Bud and Lucille Robinson would be checking in soon and that they were the parents of the famous whiz kid Cornelius Robinson. As soon as I said that, they immediately offered them free room and board," Wilbur grinned his usual cocky grin and Lewis and Camila glanced at each other with wide eyes.

"For someone so deviously brilliant…" Camila didn't even finish. She couldn't believe it but even she had to admit that it was a clever plan.

"I won't say anything this time, because, well, it worked in our favor," Lewis said shaking his head as he did. "But seriously, Wilbur…we need to find you a better outlet."

--The Music Lounge--

The music lounge was dark; all of the girls had finally fallen asleep. However, it wasn't entirely silent. Amidst snores and a few who mumbled in their sleep, Tallulah lay awake, crying to herself as quietly as she could. But as hard as she tried not to disturb any of the children, it wasn't long before she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She looked up, turned her head and saw Talia standing beside her.

"Why are you crying?" Talia asked sweetly.

Talia couldn't help but smile, even if it was rather weakly. She wiped her eyes and sat up so that she could be eye level with the little girl. "It's nothing. I'm sorry I woke you," she whispered.

"That's alright," Talia said sitting down Indian style. "Did somebody make you sad?"

Tallulah bit her lip to keep herself from letting more tears come out. "I guess you could say that. But I'll be fine, really."

"Wanda says that anyone who makes a person sad on purpose isn't very nice."

"Well, I don't know if they did it on purpose or not. That's the thing, sweetie, they've never been mean to me before. And now I feel like they're a completely different person," Tallulah wiped away a few more stray tears. "But I don't need to be explaining all of this to you. It's late and you need your rest after the busy day we've all had. After all we've all had a very long and trying day so maybe…" she sighed as her sentence trailed.

"Don't be sad," Talia hugged Tallulah tightly. "Being sad is no fun. Wanda says I used to never cry even though I didn't have a mommy. She said all of the others did when they were babies, but not me. She said it's like I knew that being sad wouldn't change anything and so I wasn't."

Tallulah tried to swallow the lump that had risen into her throat. She couldn't feel sorry for herself anymore now that she thought of Talia and how she had no family to call her own. "You're right. Being sad isn't any fun. So if you promise me that you'll go back to sleep and get some rest, then I promise I'll go to sleep too and I won't think anymore sad thoughts. Deal?"

"Okay," Talia answered with a smile before hurrying back over to her little cot.

Tallulah laid back down on her sleeping bag, and stared at the ceiling for a few moments. Her thoughts betrayed her promise and attempted to return to how angry Carl had been with her and how much of a fool he must have thought that she was when he said what he said to her. But she refused to let the thoughts linger. "A deal is a deal," she sighed and rolled over, closing her eyes and hoping for sweeter dreams than she really expected would come.

--The Music Lounge(The Next Morning)--

Tallulah yawned and stretched, surprised that she actually felt rested. She slowly sat up in her sleeping bag, rubbed her eyes and looked around. She immediately noticed that none of the girls were in the lounge. Panicking, she stood to her feet and ran out into the hall. As she ran towards the foyer, she heard something. It sounded like Carl. She followed the sound until she saw that it was a prerecorded message playing on the Robinson television. It seemed to be on a cycle through. As she stood there she waited for it to start again, trying not to listen as it played through.

"Tallulah, what I said yesterday. I didn't mean a word of it. I wasn't really annoyed with you. I was more annoyed by everything else that had happened, and I don't know, I guess that was just the final thing to send me over the edge. I guess even robots can only take so much. If Wilbur hadn't swiped the time machine, I'd go back and stop myself from saying it. I guess I could use the other one…so what I'm saying is I'm sorry. If you're wondering where the kids are, don't worry. I've got it all taken care of. All you need to worry about is getting to that lunch in time. I called Mr. Vantino back last night and told him that you could still make it to the lunch. And I can tell you he sounded pretty…" there was a pause, almost a moment of hesitation, "…excited. He was really nice, so I'm even sorrier if I sounded annoyed with him also. Maybe I'll take the kids to the zoo or something of that sort so feel free to bring Mr. Vantino over to look at your designs as you originally planned. This is a big chance for you and I don't want to ruin it." There was another pause followed by a sigh, "Again, I'm sorry. I hope your lunch date is so wonderful you forget about all of what you had to put up with yesterday. And hopefully by the time night falls, the machine will be fixed." The message came to an end and after a few moments, started up again.

Tallulah turned off the television and sat down on the couch. She couldn't believe what she had heard. "Oh, Carl, what are you thinking? You can't handle those kids on your own." Tallulah turned the television back on and switched it to the picture phone mode. She was about to call the local zoo and have them page to see if Carl and the children were there when the T.V. alerted her of an incoming call. She answered it and saw Johnny come onto the screen. "Hi, Johnny, I wasn't expecting a call from you."

"Oh, I know. And I'm sorry it's early. I just wanted to let you know that the reservation is still for noon. I was pretty happy to get that call from, what is his name, Carl?" Tallulah nodded. "He told me everything. Why didn't you just tell me that one of your cousin's inventions malfunctioned?"

"I thought you might think it was, you know, strange…" Tallulah admitted. She had only told him that an orphanage was staying with them, not the details of what had happened with the machine.

"Are you kidding? Sounds exciting. But I'm sure living with the famous Cornelius Robinson is full of exciting times," Johnny said with a laugh.

"I guess you could say there's never a dull moment," Tallulah smiled nervously. She then remembered her plan to call the zoo. "Hey, about the lunch. Actually, I…"

"Don't worry about a thing. I'm still looking forward to it just as much now as I was yesterday before you called me. And I can't wait to see your designs afterwards either. I'm sure they'll be amazing."

Tallulah relented. She had already cancelled once and Carl had insisted she go. He might be more upset with her if she didn't. Despite his apology, she still felt that he really had been annoyed with her and that he was just saying what he had said because he felt obligated to say it and not because he meant it. "Well, I should get off of here so I can get ready."

"Oh, I don't know. I think the pajamas are cute," Johnny teased. Tallulah suddenly realized that she was still in her fluffy pink pajamas and blushed bright red. "Hey, don't worry about it. I like it when girls don't worry about their appearance. And yet I'm in the fashion business where there's nothing but a bunch of prima donnas…and you thought your dilemma with the broken invention is strange," Johnny laughed as he said it. "So, hey, I'll meet you at the restaurant?"

"Sounds wonderful," Tallulah answered. As soon as she hung up, she couldn't help but squeal with delight. Without giving another though towards Carl or the children, she ran first to her personal fashion room, which had been built especially to help her launch a fashion career, and laid out the designs she wanted to show Johnny when they returned. She then ran to her room to prepare for the lunch.


	10. The Frozen Ones

**A/N- **This story is almost finished! Only two more chapters after this one and then it's on to the sequel! After I take a breath of course. Because of that, the structure of this chapter may feel a little odd...it definitely feels that way to me. Basically, I had two very important things to get across in this chapter...and so you might find one particular character a little bit missing...but don't worry, there's a point for that too!

* * *

**The Frozen Ones**

The kids rushed back into the house after spending two hours at the zoo. Carl trudged in behind them. Had he had them, his hair would be tussled and his clothes ripped. Instead, he sported a few scuff marks and one of his arms definitely felt like it needed a tune up. "Aren't you out of energy yet?" He asked with a sigh as he shut the door behind him.

"Come on!" one of the boys shouted. "You're a robot! You should have enough energy to keep up."

"And you should have enough manners to be nice to him," one of the girls shouted back.

"Okay, okay," Carl had a bad feeling about where the conversation was leading. And sure enough, a bunch of the kids began yelling among them. "Please, it's not a big deal. Please!"

"Poor, Carl," Talia heard the robot's pleas and moved over to comfort him. "Where's Tallulah? She could help."

"That would be nice," Carl shook his head. "She's on a date."

"Everybody shut up!" Buzz yelled above the noise causing all of the other kids to become silent. "_What _did you say?"

Carl looked around in amazement, realizing that Buzz's outburst had worked. He now felt obligated in repeating himself, even though he knew it would create a whole new dilemma. "I said that Tallulah isn't here because she's on a lunch date…uh…meeting is more like it though."

"She can't date someone who isn't me!" Buzz exclaimed. "I was willing to wait for her!"

"Buzz, she would be the one that would have to wait for you. You do realize that, right?" Carl looked at him curiously. "I'm telling you, it's not really a date. It's just someone who wants to help her with her fashion designs."

"She's a fashion designer!?" the girl who Tallulah had comforted the night before asked excitedly. "That's why she dresses so nice!"

"Well, she's not a fashion designer yet. But she wants to be," Carl tried to explain, feeling a little uncomfortable as all of the girls crowded around him wanting as many details as they could get.

"Hey, give him some room," Buzz commanded. "So, you're telling me that it's not a date?"

"No, at least I hope not," Carl answered, and then realized what he had said. It shocked him, but apparently the kids didn't think anything of it.

"It better not be," was the only response and that was of course from Buzz.

"So, do you think she'll show us some of her designs if we ask her?" one of the girls asked.

"Absolutely. Those designs are her pride and joy and believe me, she loves showing them off," Carl answered. "In fact, how would you like to see them _now_?"

--Inside The Time Machine--

"Finally, the future where I can breathe easy again!" Camila exclaimed as the time machine blasted out of the time stream and into the sky just above the outer limits of TodayLand.

"Maybe not," Wilbur decided to be a killjoy. "We can't breathe easy again until that machine is fixed and Lewis is back in the past. I'm already going to be in so much trouble as it is," the thought of the inevitable punishment that was on the horizon, and growing nearer, was all Wilbur could think about now that they had a greater chance at fixing the machine.

"You know," Lewis didn't miss the opportunity to reprimand his future son. "Maybe you should think about the consequences before you mess with any of my inventions."

"But come on!" Wilbur argued. "You're an inventor and I'm an inventor's son. It's my job to mess with your inventions. It's like an unwritten rule or something."

"Emphasis on the unwritten," Lewis spat back, causing Wilbur to let go of the wheel and turn to face his dad's younger self.

Camila, who was also sitting in the back of the green time machine, realized immediately what could happen. She jumped to the front seat, using Wilbur's head as a lobby and took hold of the wheel. "If you're not going to drive then I will!"

"What!? Not happening. Girls do not pilot time machines unless they're my mom and even then that's almost never," Wilbur fought for control over the wheel, causing it to jerk this way and that.

Immediately, Lewis remembered his first trip to the future and what had happened when he and Wilbur had fought over the steering wheel. "Both of you stop now!" he yelled in a voice that echoed the not to be messed with voice that Wilbur was used to hearing from Cornelius. Both Wilbur and Camila let go of the steering wheel as Lewis also jumped into the front in order to take over as pilot. "Now I want the both of you in the backseat. And if I hear so much as a word, whimper or whine from either of you, I will see to it that you are _both_ grounded until I you die or I die, is that understood?" Wilbur and Camila both nodded and moved to the backseat as quickly as possible. "Okay now, good. I need the fastest route to the house, because re-entering this dimension from the time stream drained quite a bit of Carl's battery," Lewis said as he looked at the reader he had attached to Carl for the trip. He was grateful that he had also thought to put Carl in sleep mode while his circuits did all the work. He could just imagine how Carl would have started panicking as the time machine jerked left and right at the hands of two stubborn kids.

"The fastest route is left at the next junction, straight for about two miles, right and then straight for another mile until you see the house," Wilbur answered.

"Thank you," Lewis was glad to at last have some cooperation _and_ silence as he drove forward.

--A Fancy Restaurant--

"Do you need this seat?"

"Yes, I'm waiting for…" Tallulah looked up from where she had been staring at her empty salad plate nervously and realized that it was Johnny Vantino. "Or I suppose I could let you have it," she answered playfully.

"I thought you'd see it my way," Johnny smiled and took a seat across from Tallulah. "I'm glad that we were able to get together. I mean, I would have made time for you again, but I'm seeing a lot of different people over the next few weeks for my uncle's sake and I wanted you to be the first."

Tallulah blushed slightly, "I'm, wow, I'm flattered."

"Flattery has nothing to do with it when someone is genuinely talented," Johnny answered, not wasting any time whatsoever. "And you are definitely talented. I could barely take my eyes off of the sample design you submitted to my uncle's company. And then my cousin Trish said the designer wasn't half bad either," he said with a smile, proving that he was pretty confident with himself and his choice of words.

Tallulah, on the other hand, wasn't feeling as confident. In fact, she felt slightly uncomfortable by the amount of praise she was getting from someone she had only just met, even if she knew it was praise that she had been hoping for over the past few days. "I'm sure you say that to all of the girls you meet," she used the most cliché line she could think of, hoping to hide her lack of ease with the conversation. "So, how is Trish? I haven't talked to her since her trip to Paris."

"Well, you know Paris. It takes a person who was a nobody, makes them think they're a somebody, and makes them impossible to get along with anybody," Johnny laughed. "That's the fashion industry for you though. Once you hit fashion week in Paris, you've arrived."

"And now Trish has arrived and I'm not exactly standing at the same destination?" Tallulah asked knowingly.

"She's done the same to all of her friends, unfortunately. I've scolded her for it, but she won't hear a word. She's had one hit line and suddenly she's forgotten where she was before she was lucky to have people think that her design had potential," Johnny sighed. "It's one of the things I hate about this business. It turns people into versions of themselves that they never realized could exist. That's why I make sure I'm not the one designing. Sure, I could, but I don't want that life. I want to be me."

"So, instead of designing for your uncle, you find designers for your uncle. You have a lot of willpower to settle like that. I wish I could settle so easily," Tallulah sighed, not really sure where the source of it came from.

"No, no you don't, trust me. Once you settle once, it comes naturally over and over until again, you've created this completely different version of yourself," Johnny responded quickly.

"I'm impressed," Tallulah said with a smile. She couldn't deny that she had expected someone slightly more lacking in depth.

"Hey, even fashion pros can be deep," Johnny defended with a laugh. "Actually, I minored in psychology."

"Well, then I stand corrected for judging a book by its cover."

"No worries," Johnny smiled again. "I'm a little guilty of pre-judging you too. I mean, no offense, I kept wondering if you were partly made of wood when my cousin first told me about your mom. But she assured me that you weren't when I finally asked her."

"I'm used to that one," Tallulah felt the ever familiar insecurities that surfaced every now and then from her childhood. After all, it hadn't been easy growing up with other kids who thought it was strange that her mother was a puppet. Some would even accuse that it was all a lie and that she wasn't really a Robinson at all but was adopted or something of that sort and that Fritz should be institutionalized. And these memories came flooding back every time someone new learned about her mom.

"Are you okay?" Johnny noticed that Tallulah had suddenly become distant. "I've offended you haven't I?"

"No, of course not," Tallulah answered graciously. "Just sort of hit a raw nerve that's all. I guess you could say I'm still always waiting for people to label me when they learn that my mother's a puppet. It's not you, really. I do it with everyone, well, except my brother and my family and…now I'm rambling."

"You're fine. I understand. Besides, this is the year 2038. It's not that weird anymore. I mean, it's not like she some robot or something," Johnny laughed but then kicked himself when he realized that Tallulah had become non-responsive again. The truth was, the mention of a robot suddenly made Tallulah remember that Carl was fending off the children by himself while she indulged in a lavish meal. A hint of guilt began to rise inside but wasn't given much of a chance to take form when she realized that Johnny was fumbling to apologize. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, I mean, I forgot that you had a friend who's a robot. And really, marrying a robot isn't too strange anymore either. In fact, this is supposed to be hush hush but a lot of the models today are androids."

"They are?" Tallulah asked in shock. "That explains why they all look so perfect. I'm the one who should be sorry. I'm already making for lousy company aren't I?"

"No, I think that would be me. In fact, I was actually thinking that it's my cousin's loss for breaking ties with you."

"And if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're determined to make me like you," Tallulah laughed, a little shocked at the hint of flirtation in her voice.

"Is it working?" Johnny asked slyly.

"Maybe…" Tallulah started but was caught off guard by the sound of a familiar song being played by the house band. As she listened more closely she realized it was the one that Frankie had performed the day before when she and Carl had danced thanks to the encouragement of the kids. "There I go again," she sighed.

"Are you sure I didn't say anything?" Johnny asked with concern.

"No, you've been a perfect gentleman. I'm the one who's been an insensitive jerk. It doesn't matter what he said to me, it doesn't give me the right to sit here while he's at the mercy of the kids," Tallulah thought out loud.

"I'm not exactly following," Johnny said. "All my psychology minor helps me to realize is that you're obviously guilty about something…what that guilt is from is beyond me."

"Yes, I _am_ feeling guilty. You see, Carl was nice enough to call you back and arrange this because he knew how much it meant to me."

"It did…it does?" Johnny asked hopefully. He was finally glad for a hint of how Tallulah felt about their lunch date.

Tallulah nodded." But I can't help but feel bad for leaving him there all by himself with 44 kids," Tallulah explained.

"44! He didn't tell me there were that many kids! In fact, he assured me that you would be able to come because it was no big deal. 44...geez. What was he thinking?" Johnny asked in disbelief.

"No, what was I thinking, is the question," Tallulah sighed, relenting to her guilt. "I'm sorry, Johnny, but I've got to get back to the house. Who knows what kind of trouble Carl's in."

"You don't have to be sorry. I'd think less of you, actually, if you didn't rush off to your friend's aid," Johnny replied, getting up as she did. "In fact, do the two of you need any help? I mean, two against 44? How did you manage to survive yesterday?"

"With great difficulty," Tallulah answered honestly as he followed her to the exit. "Thank you for the offer. But I wouldn't want to inconvenience…"

"Nonsense. It wouldn't be an inconvenience. Besides, you promised me a look at your designs," Johnny reminded her.

"I guess you got me there. Thank you so much!" Tallulah exclaimed, truly grateful, as they left the restaurant.

--The Robinson Mansion--

"Where is everybody?" Lewis asked as he, Wilbur, Camila and Carl entered the Robinson mansion only to find complete emptiness and silence.

"Oh, I just knew it. They ate us! No, worse, they ate her and now they're dissecting my parts to offer me up to some heathen god. Oh it's horrible."

"I repeat, dad, you need to monitor what you let him watch," Wilbur was getting annoyed with the fact that Carl was acting like a foolish five or six year old.

"Relax, Carl," Lewis warned. "It's best that they not see us anyways. The kids that is. Who knows what kind of effect that could have on the time stream."

"That's a good point," Camila chimed. "Come on, let's go to the lab."

The group started towards the lab, but Carl stopped along the way without any of them noticing. He walked over to the living area and saw a family portrait. "Is that Laszlo?" he stared at the picture studiously. "Hey, look at me…I look good. Still no muscles though," he sighed. His eyes moved over slightly to the person standing in between himself and Laszlo. "Tallulah…"

"Carl!" Lewis' voice could be heard behind him. "With me at all times remember?"

"Oh, yeah…" Carl realized that Lewis was right and that it could mess up the time stream if he was caught. He turned and followed after the others until they reached the broken machine in the lab.

Lewis began inspecting it immediately. "So you pushed this button here?" Lewis asked and Wilbur nodded. "I'm almost tempted to push it again. After all the input hasn't been changed yet. And that's sometimes the best way to know where the error is."

"Let me!" Wilbur volunteered and rushed towards the machine.

"No!" Camila yelled, causing Wilbur stop in his tracks, his sneakers squeaking from the abruptness.

"What's wrong, Camila?" Lewis asked her, ready for any insight she might have on the matter. "It's just a simple procedure of trial and error. It's effective for inventors."

"Tallulah remember?" Camila responded. "We already know that the machine doesn't take into account the variable of a robot life form, but if Tallulah's somewhere in the house, she won't be so lucky." They obviously didn't know that Tallulah was still out with Johnny.

"Oh yeah, I guess I hadn't thought of that. Even geniuses let things slip by. I guess that means will have to dissect the formula another way," Lewis sighed and went back to studying the machine.

"But I wanted to push the button," Wilbur groaned pathetically.

"If you hadn't pushed the button in the first place, we wouldn't all be standing here now would we?" Camila challenged.

"You know you like hanging out with me," Wilbur teased egotistically. "I mean, who couldn't resist the charming Wilbur Robinson."

"The only one who thinks Wilbur Robinson is charming is his mirror and oversized ego," Camila snapped back sarcastically.

"Ouch," Lewis couldn't help but commenting on that one. "And here I thought that me and Franny have our ups and downs," he said with a nerdy laugh as he narrowed his eyebrows to study a single line of the formula.

"Hey, that's different," Wilbur was quick to point out. "Franny's your future wife. Your fighting is nothing but lovers' quarrels."

Camila realized what Wilbur meant and was fast to add her agreements. "Unlike Wilbur and I who simply can't stand one another."

"Exactly!" Wilbur exclaimed. "Although I still don't get how come you don't find me irresistible like every other girl."

Lewis stopped what he was doing and turned and faced his future son with a skeptic look. "You're kidding me?"

"What? You just have to get used to the fact that your son is a total girl magnet," Wilbur answered, puffing his chest out a little. "Of course, I wish some of them would repel like Camila here."

Lewis and Camila exchanged glances and began laughing over what Wilbur had said. "Please! You haven't even been to any of the dances!" Camila accused.

"Oh and how would you know? Have you been to all of them?" Wilbur asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Well, no, but I'm on the student council so I've seen the lists of students who buys tickets to every school event…and so much more," Camila answered.

"Wha-what!? That's like an invasion of privacy!" Wilbur exclaimed with a huff and turned and looked at Lewis. "Are you going to just let the school do that to its students? I mean, letting just anybody have that kind of information!?"

Lewis sighed, "Complain to the other me…oh wait, you can't! Now could we get back to the problem at hand? I'm getting nowhere by myself over here. I'm smart, but it's hard to understand a bunch of formulas I've yet to invent."

"Well, you know what they say…" Wilbur was about to quote his dad's motto but couldn't finish.

"Don't say it!" both Lewis and Camila snapped at him simultaneously.

"Tough crowd," Wilbur rolled his eyes. "I think I'd rather go spend time with the old stiffs in the dining room."

Suddenly a light went off in Lewis' head. "You said they're in the dining room? I have an idea," Lewis said and they quickly followed him to the dining room.

"Still there," Wilbur stated the obvious as he entered.

"No, really?" Camila couldn't resist the opportunity to say something sarcastic.

"So what's there to learn in here?" None of it made any sense to Wilbur.

"Well, I just wanted to see it for myself for one, and for another thing, I wanted to see if there were any variables I could figure out by seeing the situation first hand," Lewis explained.

"You sound like my math teacher…and he doesn't make any sense either," Wilbur responded to Lewis' explanation.

"I think I get what he's saying," Camila scratched her head a little before tucking her hair back behind her ears. "I think he means that if there's anything else out of place besides the fact that their frozen in time, inspecting the situation first hand will be more effective than trying to guess based on the formulas.

"Exactly what I mean," Lewis replied as he walked around the room, tapping his chin and taking observations. The others followed his lead. "Do you see something obvious that I see?" Lewis asked the others as he pointed to the table.

"I see one big mess," Camila answered, referring to the food and drinks spilled all over the table. "I guess nobody thought to clean it up."

"Hmm, that's not like Lefty. Then again, he's tempermental…" Wilbur let his sentence trail as a new thought entered his head. "So if all of the drinks and forks and stuff are spilled than that means they must have dropped them all when they were affected by the machine."

"Very good, Wilbur," Lewis complemented genuinely. "Which means that the variable is for adult life forms only. Not even anything that they were touching when they were first affected. That's a good start. Now I just have to find the string in the formula that corresponds with the adults and maybe work from there in reversing it."

"Work backwards!" Camila exclaimed. "I get it!"

"Okay, sounds good to me," Wilbur said unenthusiastically. "Let's just get a move on."

"We're supposed to be looking for anything out of the ordinary right?" Carl asked suddenly, before the other three could leave the room.

"Yeah, why, did you find something?" Lewis asked hopefully.

"I think so. You see, I was scanning the room with my different eye settings, and using x-ray, I saw a piece of paper in the left hand pocket of Laszlo's jacket. It has some kind of formula on it," Carl explained.

Lewis hurried over to Laszlo and pulled out the paper that Carl described. "I don't know what this formula is exactly, but if my hunch is right, I think you just saved the day, Carl!"

* * *

**A/N Cont. - **Alright, so you can be sure there's lots of drama ahead now that Johnny's been introduced! So much so that the ending may shock you! In fact, it shocked me when it came to me! Anyways, I'm trying really hard to NOT make Johnny one of those characters where you feel sorry for him and end up shipping him instead. (Like how I felt with Prince Edward in Enchanted!) Of course, feel free to do so if you really want... Hmm, and for some reason I have this feeling I'm forgetting to credit someone for something...I dunno...if so, sorry! 


	11. Love's Design

**A/N- **I am so sorry I took forever to post this chapter! And well, the last chapter which will be up within a few days. I've been busy, busy, busy. But more accurate, I've been away from in particular. It's a long grueling story filled with what else but "emotional turmoil and dinosaur fights" :P Anyways, I really don't want to go into it whatsoever and so I'll just offer my apology and say that I'm back!

I borrowed Robin's (doodlegirll) TCTF concept from _Like Looking in a Mirror_ and _Then You Stand_, of course they don't know how true Wilbur's words are yet :D And of course, in Robin's story it will be Cassie and not Camila...hmm, Wilbur has a thing for C's...

**

* * *

**

Love's Design

"Hello!? Carl? Where is everybody?" Tallulah entered the oddly silent foyer, followed closely behind by Johnny. "I know they can't still be at the zoo."

"Well, the zoo is pretty big. Maybe they stopped at the monkeys and stayed there for a long time," Johnny suggested randomly causing Tallulah to stare at him blankly for a slight moment. "It's what I always…err…used to always do."

"I see," Tallulah didn't know whether to laugh at how cute she thought his comment was or how ridiculous it was. "I guess I shouldn't worry. Carl's completely capable of handling things," she said confidently, although her worry wasn't subsiding anytime soon.

"I would love to see your designs if you're up to it," Johnny suggested, causing Tallulah's face to brighten at the thought.

"And I would love for you to see my designs," she answered honestly. "They're in my studio," she said and began leading the way. Tallulah's heart beat faster with every step she took. She had dreamed of showing her designs to someone important and now she was about to. She worried that they would be no good or that Johnny would tell her that she didn't have as much talent as he first thought. All of these thoughts and more ran through her head as she opened the door to her studio, the studio that the family had given her as a surprise gift. "What on earth…" she gasped as they entered the large room.

"Wow this is amazing. You even have your own runway? Wow," Johnny was speechless, but so was Tallulah, however, not in a good way. "What's wrong?"

"My designs! My finished designs, they're gone!" Tallulah cried. "They were all on my mannequins the last time I was in here, but now, they're not." Tallulah began searching frantically as Johnny watched on in confusion. "I have to find…them…" she was stopped by the sound of music beginning to play. The lights in the room went dim, and the runway lights came on. "What's going on?" She walked back over to Johnny, who was thoroughly enjoying himself through all of the commotion.

"Welcome to today's show, with only the best designs as fashioned by that runway diva herself, Tallulah Robinson," Carl's voice could be heard, although he wasn't seen, as Tallulah began putting the pieces together. "First up is Talia who is sporting a green chignon dress with matching hat. Doesn't she look fabulous? Next up we have Buzz sporting a handsome jet black blazer that is sure to look good on any physical type."

"This is the most unique thing I've ever seen," Johnny laughed as the kids came out one after another wearing Tallulah's designs. He smiled at how silly they looked in the outfits that were obviously much too large for their small frames. "And here I thought I was coming here to help you babysit," he laughed again and went back to studying every detail of Tallulah's designs.

"So did I," Tallulah said under her breath before turning her attention towards the fashion show. She couldn't wait to hear the explanation, but she knew that now wasn't the time since Johnny was obviously impressed with what he thought to be her own scheme at work.

"Oh, now that one, yeah, that one I love," Johnny commented as the kids continued to make their way down the runway under Carl's guidance. "That's a perfect color choice for that pattern," he said as he saw one of the men's jackets. I bet I'd look completely handsome in that design."

Tallulah was completely flabbergasted. She was happy the way things had turned out, yes, but it was all so much she barely knew what to say. The kids were occupied and looked as though they were having fun, she knew that Carl had something to do with it and she was bound to find out, and in addition to that, her plans with Johnny hadn't fallen through and now here he was falling all over her designs making compliments and suggestions on how to make them even better. She pinched herself slightly; glad to feel that it wasn't a dream.

As the fashion show came to a close, Tallulah and Johnny applauded. Suddenly, two girls rushed off of the runway, grabbed Tallulah's hand and dragged her to the runway herself. "What's going on?" Tallulah asked a little taken back as she just stood there noticing the huge amount of amusement Johnny seemed to be getting from her confusion.

"And now, coming down the runway, we have the fashionable designer herself, Tallulah Robinson. Tallulah is sporting one of her own designs, a green skirt in the shape of a mermaid tail and made of a, uh, an easy to move in…is that silk?" Carl stopped not able to figure out the material from where he was.

"No," Tallulah laughed a little in spite of herself, "it's Egyptian cotton. The shirt's the same," she said with another giggle. She was completely embarrassed to be strutting on a runway and almost felt show-offish but somehow Carl made it less painful and more enjoyable. She felt like she was just having fun, and hopefully Johnny would think the same thing.

"Got it!" Carl exclaimed. "Tallulah is sporting a green mermaid design skirt made of the finest Egyptian cotton and an accentuating white top in the same material that would make any girl wish they were under the sea."

"Brava!" Johnny stood to his feet in applause. "And that was the best design of the entire show. Then again, it could have just been because the model pulled it off so well," he said with a smile, causing Tallulah to blush.

"More flattery?" she joked back.

"What can I say, flattery suits you," he said in the same playful tone. "But seriously, all of those designs were amazing. And the fashion show, nice touch."

"Well, I'm not really all that responsible," she said honestly. "I mean, Carl and the kids…"

"The kids were fantastic!" Johnny exclaimed and before he could blink he was tumbled by the group of orphans as they ran out from the preparation area behind the runway. "Seriously, some of you have star potential," he said graciously.

Carl followed behind, "Okay boys and girls, let the man have some room to breathe," he avoided eye contact with Tallulah, who was most definitely staring at him in bewilderment.

"Oh, you're Carl, right?" Johnny composed himself and held out his hand to shake Carl's. "You sure had me convinced on the phone last night. Only now I see it was all an elaborate scheme for this. And I must say, I enjoyed this much better than any other interview I've done. By the way, you should look into a voice over career. I think half of my enjoyment was your narration. Especially there at the end," he laughed, remembering Carl's little flub with Tallulah's outfit.

"Haha, yeah," Carl faked a laugh, still trying to get past his annoyance with Johnny. "So, you did enjoy her designs, right?" Carl moved onto another subject. He wanted to make sure that he hadn't ruined Tallulah's chances by not doing her designs justice.

"Of course! How could I not?" Johnny answered. "Actually, I want to take one of your portfolios, Tallulah, and show them to my uncle as soon as I see him."

"I feel like I'm dreaming," Tallulah echoed aloud the thoughts that she had kept to herself prior. "I don't know what to say about any of this."

"The only thing to be said is by your friends and family and I guess myself also, and that's congratulations. I think you're on your way, Tallulah," Johnny answered. "Just don't turn into Trish okay?"

Tallulah couldn't keep herself from looking at Carl after Johnny had said what he said. "I could never turn into Trish. There are some friends I could never forget, even if I tried."

"Good, so now wha…" Johnny started to ask when suddenly, everyone froze as had happened the day before. It only lasted a few seconds and as soon as things returned to normal, Johnny found himself holding his head. "What was that?"

"The machine!" Carl and Tallulah exclaimed simultaneously as they looked at one another.

"So there really is a machine?" Johnny asked as he watched Tallulah and Carl ran out of the room and down the hall, leaving him alone with the kids.

As Carl and Tallulah entered the main atrium of the house, they immediately noticed the rest of the Robinsons slowly walking about. Many of them appeared to be woozy and lightheaded. Cornelius spotted the two and he and Wanda started towards them. "Carl, where are the kids?"

"They're in my fashion room," Tallulah answered instead. "They're all fine. The only one not there is…"

"Camila," Wanda finished knowingly before following Franny in the direction of where the kids were.

"How did she know?" Tallulah asked, looking to her cousin for an answer after exchanging a confused look with Carl.

"Let's just say that stupid machine has one too many glitches," Cornelius answered vaguely at first. "One of them being that even though it froze us, and seemingly only us, it didn't actually freeze our vital organs. We could still use our senses so we could hear and see you when you were in the room."

"Well, that's not very good news for Wilbur then is it?" Carl chuckled nervously for his little buddy as the thought came to him.

"He's in more trouble than when he lied to me as a boy," Cornelius said. "But how about the two of you? I'm glad to see you both in one piece. That was quite a few children to handle. And there were a few times they were so loud that we could hear them running through the halls and screaming so I'm sure you must have had a rough time of it."

"It was definitely an interesting time that's for sure," Carl replied as he watched Tallulah take her leave to go and speak to the other family members.

"I can only imagine," Cornelius couldn't help but give a slight laugh at what Carl must have gone through. "Now, I think I'll go pay a visit to Wilbur in the lab."

"Maybe you should spare him just a little," Carl had a soft spot for his little buddy, but more importantly he knew that Wilbur would try to shift the blame to him. "After all, he did help fix things. I mean, if it weren't for him thinking to go back to get your help, who knows if we'd even be having this conversation right now."

"That might be true, Carl, but it was more than just Wilbur or Camila or even my younger self who saved the day in the end," Cornelius said in reference to the younger Carl having found the piece of paper in Laszlo's jacket.

"What do you mean?" Carl obviously didn't know that another version of himself was no more than a hall away.

"I mean, you had more to do with setting things right than you know," Cornelius said as he walked past Carl and towards the lab. Carl just stood in bewilderment for a few moments before going back to Tallulah's fashion room to see if Franny and Wanda needed any more help with the kids.

--The Lab--

"Dad will be here any minute," Wilbur hung his head in defeat as he expected the inevitable.

"There are always consequences, Wilbur," Lewis said what he thought he needed to hear. "But one of those consequences could be dire," Lewis looked at Carl. "The last thing I need is to let the timeline get messed up any more by letting Carl here interact with anyone else. It may or may not have repercussions but if did, there's no real TCTF or time cops to prevent the worse from happening."

"Hey, I'm telling you, someday there will be," Wilbur said confidently.

"What's the TCTF?" Camila asked curiously.

"Time Continuum Task Force," Wilbur answered. He just loved saying it, as it sent chills down his spine every time. "Yep, and someday I'll be the leader," he added smugly.

"At least that's his dream," Lewis filled in the blanks. "But hey, I'm glad he at least has a goal for the future. But right now, let's get back to the here and now."

"Which is still technically the future for you," Wilbur said quickly.

"Wilbur!" Lewis knew that there wouldn't be much more time before his older self would come bounding into the lab looking for an explanation. "Okay, Wilbur and Camila, take Carl somewhere he can hide. I'll handle things until you return. And maybe I'll even see what I can do on getting you off easy, Wilbur," Lewis said with a sigh. "I hope I'm not this much of a pushover when I'm older."

"Don't worry, you are…until mom shows up and then you aren't," Wilbur answered as he ran out of the lab, followed by Camila and a reluctant Carl.

It was a good thing they left and ducked into Wilbur's room when they did, because it wasn't but a minute or two later that Cornelius stormed into the lab. "Wilbur…" he stopped when he only found Lewis."Where is he? He's in big trouble."

"I know what Wilbur did was wrong, but he did try like crazy to fix things," Lewis replied.

"Don't give me that, Lewis, we both know we have to punish him," Cornelius said in response. He looked around to see if his son was hiding anywhere. "So where is he?"

"I asked him to uh, well, he and Camila are…" Lewis fumbled, not knowing how to explain without revealing Carl was there as well.

"Wait," Cornelius sounded more frantic this time he spoke. "Where's Carl? If he's seen there could be serious alterations in the time stream."

"I know and that's why Wilbur and Camila are hiding him and how do you know he's here?" Lewis blurted out all at once before giving Cornelius a very confused look.

"We weren't entirely frozen in there. We could still breathe, hear, see, smell; you name it. We just couldn't move," Cornelius explained. "So I know Carl's here. And I know he's the one who found the answer to the problem. Laszlo and I were on the verge of testing the machine when everyone showed up. You see, I gave Laszlo the instructions on how to shut it down after I tested it. I hadn't planned on it freezing all adults in the area, only in the lab. Laszlo had planned on moving out of the lab and waiting for the ripple effect as a sign to come in and shut it down."

"So, if you had gone ahead with your plan, it still would have had the same result," Lewis observed. "Of course, without the kids and Mildred and Wanda here to share in on it."

"I guess that's a good point. Either way, this machine is far from stable," Cornelius admitted. "Maybe Wilbur's actions, however wrong they were, helped me understand that a little bit better."

--Wilbur's Room--

"See, working with me isn't so bad," Wilbur said as he, Camila and Carl stood in his room.

"I could say the same thing," Camila responded coldly at first but then softened. "You're right. I guess I should give you a little more credit."

Wilbur had expected it to turn into another argument, and so was surprised when she gave in. "Oh well, thanks. And, working with you isn't so bad either. I guess you deserve all of the, uh, praise you get at school."

Camila couldn't contain herself and let out a laugh, "That was really painful for you wasn't it?"

"A little, yeah," he nodded and then laughed as well. "But I guess I meant it. I mean, next time I need someone super smart, I'll think twice about going to get Lewis and I might call you instead."

"Well, that's very flattering, but I'm a pretty busy girl. Being a kid genius is a full time job and bailing you out of your schemes would just be a major distraction," Camila replied, although half jokingly.

"Is that so!?" Wilbur now felt insulted. "I'll have you know…"

"Relax, Wilbur," Camila stopped him before he could get started. "I was only kidding. Well, partially anyhow."

"Oh, right, very funny…hey, wait!" Wilbur processed the last part of what she said. "What do you mean partially?"

Camila laughed again. She couldn't deny that making Wilbur irritable was a fun thing to do. In fact, no one knew-although Wilbur had accused her of it-but she enjoyed it so much that sometimes at school she really did go out of her way to annoy him. Of course, with someone like Wilbur, it didn't require much work. As she thought about it, she began to feel uneasy and immediately wanted to change the subject. She had no idea that Wilbur shared her uneasy feeling. "So, uh, do you think we should go face the music?"

"Yeah, that sounds good, well not good exactly, but yeah," Wilbur uncharacteristically fumbled his words. He turned to Carl quickly, "Okay, Carl, stay here. And don't move," Wilbur commanded. "I mean, you can move, just don't leave the room, got it?"

"I'm not a child, Wilbur," Carl answered defiantly. "I know what I'm supposed to do and not do."

"Could've fooled me," Wilbur said under his breath as he and Camila left the room.

"Stay here, Carl," Carl mimicked Wilbur as he paced around the room looking for something to occupy his time. Suddenly his eye caught sight of the odd shaped thing hanging from the ceiling. "What is that thing?" He stood at a distance but continued studying it. "Maybe it's a suction tube for dirty clothes." As he continued studying it, he inched closer and closer.

**

* * *

**

**A/N Cont. - **Okay, so I attempted to show some of the other side of Johnny...the side that hopefully makes him a little more irking. At least he is to me when I write him :P But that could be just because I'm already shipping Carl and Tallulah xD Okay, so this chapter's pretty eventful. I also decided to do all the summing of how the machine was fixed and all that jazz in this chapter because I want the final one to be short and BITTERsweet. So, I hope everyone has enjoyed Wilbur and Camila because I'll give away a little and let you know they don't re-enter again in _this_ story...in fact, you'll all probably HATE the end of this story as much as I do and say "What The BonJovi?" when it's done. xP


	12. If You Love Someone

**A/N-** Here it is at last. The last chapter! I can't believe it...I also can't believe it took so long -slaps forehead and looks at calendar- Time really does fall away. This chapter might seem really awkward at one point, but remember the warning from the get go :P And the "awkward" moment is actually borrowed from an "awkward" moment in_ Back to the Future_.

The title is based on the song of the same title by the Dizmas. I'm a little crazy and pick theme songs for my stories almost as if they were movies. So basically, if this was a movie and there were end credits, this song would be in the credits!!

Right now, I want to take the moment to thank doodlegirll, BunnyGirl6, bean15, Ember411, and Vixen's Shadow for all of the wonderful reviews! Extra thanks goes to doodlegirll for helping betaread for me :)

Whatever you do, please read the Author Note at the end of this chapter! Now, on to the chapter!"So, sis," Tallulah immediately heard the teasing tone in her brother's voice and wasn't sure she was ready for what he had to say. After all, she had just left Johnny hanging. "Does Carl make a good husband?" Laszlo could hardly hide a devious face as he asked.

* * *

**If You Love Someone**

"What are you talking about?" Tallulah looked at him in bewilderment.

"Well, seeing as the two of you played house the past day or so, I was just curious," Laszlo reiterated.

"Playing house? Lasz, we were taking care of a bunch of kids; it was serious! We weren't playing," Tallulah rolled her eyes, not sure what her brother was trying to make of the conversation.

"Okay, maybe not, but you're going to tell me that you didn't enjoy being the mother role and him being the father role?" Laszlo wasn't about to give it a rest.

"Lasz, sometimes you make me so frustrated. So what if he was the 'father role' as you put it. He was a pretty good one," Tallulah answered, somehow her tone gave away that she didn't even realize she was proving the sideways point that Laszlo was attempting to coerce from his sister. "I mean, he was great with the kids. Better than I think he thought he was. And he only lost his patience once but I suppose that was a little of both of our faults for making hasty assumptions but he more than made up for it. He went out of his way to make sure my lunch date with Johnny went well and…"

There was a long bout of silence and it was clear Tallulah was thinking hard about something. "And…" Laszlo prodded for her to finish.

"And maybe I took that for granted," she answered finally. "I've got to go find Carl." She turned and ran to find the robot, yelling behind her as she did, "Thanks, Lasz! You're still wrong but thanks!"

Laszlo watched his sister go, a peculiar look on his face, "You're still wrong but thanks?" He echoed her words then finally shrugged his shoulders. "Hmm, must mean I'm right."

--Tallulah's Fashion Room--

"You should be proud, Carl," Franny congratulated the robot as they stood in the fashion room. All of the kids were eagerly telling Wanda everything that had happened all at once.

"It was nothing really," Carl answered, several other thoughts already running through his head. "Tallulah did most of the work. I only did what she told me too."

"Well, that's how it always goes," Johnny joined the conversation on his own free will. "But, hey, from the way Tallulah talked during lunch, I think she appreciated you more than you might think. And that was pretty cool of you to hold down the fort in order for Tallulah to go to lunch with me."

"It's something she really wanted. And you could be her big break," Carl answered, an uneasy glint in his eyes.

"Oh, big break is hardly the way to describe it. Colossal break might be more appropriate," Johnny corrected. "Tallulah is really talented."

"Yes, she is," both Carl and Franny nodded.

"In fact, since you all seem to have a lot to do here, I'm eager to get these designs over to my uncle's studio," Johnny patted the portfolio he held under his arm. Tallulah had left out in such a rush that he had taken it upon himself to snag a few of her designs. He was even hoping to eventually surprise her by not letting her know he had taken any, but he knew any good designer would notice something so important was missing. "It was nice meeting all of you. And I hope this is just the first of many more times in the future," he added in a debonair voice.

Carl felt himself growing uncomfortable at the idea of always seeing Johnny Vantino around, especially since he knew what it could lead to. Still, admitting to that would be just as bad as admitting that he had romantic feelings towards Tallulah! He attempted to shrug it off as he watched Johnny leave in search of Tallulah to say goodbye for the afternoon.

"What's wrong, Carl?" Talia had made her way over to Carl, who was now standing alone as Franny had gone over to join Wanda, noticing with her keen innocent senses that something was the matter.

"Nothing, Talia," Carl answered and Talia could tell it wasn't the truth.

"Wanda says that a lie is still a lie even when we just don't feel like telling the truth."

"She does?" Carl stared at the girl, raising one of his metal eyebrows ever so slightly. "I'm not sure if that makes much sense."

"Sure it does. Just because you don't want to tell me what's wrong. It doesn't mean something's not wrong. It's easy to understand," Talia answered in simple wisdom. "Maybe you should tell Tallulah. She's a great listener and you seem like best friends."

"I don't know about best friends, Talia," Carl said with a small smile. "But you're right, she is a good listener. I just don't know if this is something I want her to hear. I don't even want to hear it."

"Oh," Talia said, as if what Carl had said was enlightening. "Maybe it's what you both want to hear but you can't because neither of you will say it because you're afraid the other won't listen," Talia waxed philosophically, causing Carl to stare at her in utter bewilderment. "I heard that on a movie once," she smiled, patted Carl's hand and then hurried back over to the others.

"She's smarter than all of us," Carl said, the young girl's words having actually gotten through to him. "I need to find Tallulah," he rushed out of the room.

--Robinson Hallway--

"Where could he be? I would have sworn he'd be with Wilbur now that he's back. And he's not with Cornelius," Tallulah walked around the house looking for Carl. "I know he can't still be with the kids. Then again, he is a softy…" she started to say when suddenly someone came flying out of the nearby travel tube and knocked her to the ground. "What the…" she picked herself up and looked at the other on the ground. To her surprise it was Carl. Of course, she had no way of knowing that it wasn't the Carl she was looking for. "Carl, are you okay?" she asked helping him up.

"Crazy, devil tubes, I…" the young Carl realized who she was. "I…I…I…yeah, I'm, uh, I'm fine," he answered nervously. "Oh, uh, are you okay? I didn't hurt you did I?"

Tallulah giggled a little, curious about his sudden shyness. "After yesterday's run in with Tiny, it'd take three gunshots to hurt me even slightly, and seeing as my mom is a puppet, I probably have just about the same amount of indestructibility as she does," she joked. She then began studying Carl carefully, noticing that he looked a little different than usual, a fact credited to his still being in the early stages of her cousin's inventive genius. "Carl, I know it's been a rough day or so, but you look more worn than I even feel."

"Well, I, you know, it's just," Carl fumbled, his robotic brain realizing she must have him confused with his other self.

"It's okay. You don't have to explain. I know perfectly well what you probably went through taking the kids on by yourself," Tallulah stopped him before the truth could be revealed. "And I just want to say thank you. I know you did it as an apology, but it was much more than that. I mean, these past twenty-four hours have been kind of crazy, but I think we pulled through pretty nicely. And you were wonderful."

"No, no, I wasn't," Carl said timidly, feeling slightly guilty that he hadn't told her who he really was yet.

"Of course you were. You tried you best to make sure I wouldn't end up like everyone else in the first place. And then you were practically my hero when Tiny fell on me and then again for arranging it so my lunch date with Johnny could remain as planned," Tallulah responded, her heart warming as she spoke of all the things that Carl had done. "And just for being a wonderful friend."

All at once, Tallulah felt her heart flutter for a moment, her cheeks flush and her head spin. She suddenly looked at the robot strangely. Without thinking, she gave Carl a very small kiss before he could react. When she pulled away, she had an even stranger expression on her face. "I, I'm sorry, I just…um, that's not exactly…it was a friendly kiss," she finally blurted before quickly shuffling past the dazed robot.

As for the younger Carl, he had hearts in his eyes and had his antigravity functions been invented yet, he would have most likely been floating off the ground.

Meanwhile, Tallulah was in an embarrassed hurry to find someplace where she could think privately. "What was I thinking!? I'm not in love with him! Why did I even do that? It was like kissing my brother, which is gross considering, but it was so…" Tallulah's confused ramble was stopped as she nearly ran into Johnny.

"Oh, Johnny, I…" Tallulah was now even more embarrassed. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, you were just lost in thought," Johnny said forgivingly. "It's not like you were talking to yourself or something," he laughed and Tallulah laughed along, wanting to hide the fact that she had been. "So, I should be getting back to my uncle's studio. But I just wanted to let you know I snagged a few of your designs to take with me. I picked a few that are perfect for a collection my Uncle's working on at the moment. Do you mind?" Johnny asked, showing her the ones he had taken.

"Of course I don't," Tallulah answered with new found pep, her mind temporarily alleviated from her current situation. "I can't believe you like my designs so well. I mean, I only dreamed this could happen. And thank you for coming along to help out."

"Well, it didn't seem I was needed too much, but what can I say, I'm a great guy," Johnny responded in mock arrogance, although it wasn't quite clear to Tallulah whether or not he meant it in an entirely joking manner. Of course, she didn't need anything else to dwell on at the moment. "No, I actually had a great time. Lunch with you was amazing. Sure it was short, but it's almost like I've known you my entire life. I know completely corny, right?"

"Not actually," Tallulah answered, not sure what to think about his comment. "You might be surprised to find out how many girls actually like to hear those kinds of things. Or maybe you already know that," Tallulah couldn't deny that she was somewhat fishing for any background information.

"Maybe," Johnny more than willingly played along. "Or maybe you're the first girl I've said it to."

"Is that so?" Tallulah raised an eyebrow.

"And meant it," He replied with even more charm than ever.

He was sweet enough, he loved what Tallulah loved, he definitely had confidence; there was no reason Tallulah could think of to not like Johnny. And as they now stood in an awkward silence, she wondered if it were actually possible he was attracted to her. Despite her weird background, despite her crazy family, despite her own oddness. And yet, her heart didn't flutter the same way it had with Carl…but she didn't even want to think of that possibility!

"And what are you thinking about now?" Johnny asked in a more hushed tone, not wanting to completely destroy the moment as he broke through Tallulah's deepest thoughts.

"I…I'm thinking…" Tallulah wracked her brain and finally settled on what she felt she must secretly want. "I'm thinking I'm determined to like you."

"You know, I had the same thought," he responded swiftly yet as sweetly as possible.

"Sounds like we're on the same page then," Tallulah smiled.

"Good. The same page means that we're that much closer together," Johnny didn't blink or hesitate. Instead he grabbed Tallulah's hand to bring her closer.

All the while, Carl was wandering the large house in search of Tallulah. "You can do this," he kept telling himself as he did. "All you have to do is say, 'Tallulah, I'm having these weird feelings. I think I might…might, come on, Carl…I might enjoy your company a little more than, you know, before and I…oh what am I thinking! That's the most unromantic way to put it. Maybe I should just…just…" he stopped in his tracks, wearing an expression as though he'd seen something horrible like a murder taking place.

There before his very eyes was Tallulah and Johnny Vantino pulling away from a kiss. Carl suddenly felt as though his circuits would shut down completely and he fought the urge to pull out his own primary chip after seeing such a thing. He turned away quickly before he could be spotted. "I…I…" He fumbled for words as he hurried away. "At least I saved myself from finding out I how she feels." Carl tried to find the bright side as he sighed and fell onto one of the many seats scattered about the house. "And…and…now I know how I feel about her."

It was the moment of truth for Carl. Seeing Tallulah with Johnny like that made him wish that he had never been invented. He loved her. He knew that now, but he had missed the chance when he had it and now he was beating himself up on the inside. To Carl, it was obvious she wanted Johnny Vantino and he would never mean anything to her more than what he already did.

Lost in his despair, he barely noticed when some of the kids passed by. Talia was skipping along after them, singing as she went, "If you love someone, then let them go. And if they come back to you they're yours," she was gone before Carl could hear any of the rest but it had been enough to snap him out of his meltdown. He began working through all of the scenarios, analyzing his new found discovery.

All Carl wanted was for Tallulah to be happy. He had always wanted that, even before he'd given into his inevitable feelings. But now even his computer of a brain couldn't imagine not being the one to make Tallulah happy. Would letting her go really be the key to finding out if she could live without him…if he could even learn to live without her? Or should he just risk telling her how he felt while it was clear she would turn him down for the smarter choice? The robot let out a desperate huff of air as he continued processing everything there was to deliberate.

"I don't want to let go," Carl finally whispered to himself. He stood up and walked over to the closest window and looked out. Outside he saw Tallulah on the drive, waving to Johnny as he left. He felt his despair mixing with determination and knew what he had to do, at least for now. "But I will. I love you, Tallulah. I will."

**THE END**

**

* * *

**

**A/N Cont. - **Gah! There was kissage! Hope it wasn't too awkward for anyone. I didn't specifically say where the kiss took place, so if that helps anyone...!! Also, don't think that's the end! Poor Carl...he's determined now. So there will be more to come. I hope everyone enjoyed this story and I hope that you stick with the series in the future. Thanks everyone :)


End file.
